Cal Hosts Saturday Doubleheader
Bears Back Home For 6 Of Next 7 Games
The No. 8 California men's water polo team (8-6) is back in Berkeley for six of its next seven games, starting with a 1 p.m. PT doubleheader this Saturday against No. 9 Long Beach State and UC Merced. The Golden Bears are coming off a pair of losses to No. 3 USC, 16-13, and No. 2 UCLA, 14-9, in their first games of MPSF play. Cal continues to be led by three-time ACWPC All-American Max Casabella, whose 35 goals rank second in the conference. The Bears' remaining six home games will all be streamed on Overnght.com.
BEAR NECESSITIES
HOME SWEET HOME
The Bears own a 26-5 record at Spieker Aquatics Complex since 2021 and are 2-2 at home so far this season, with all four of their games occurring during the Overnght MPSF Invitational (Sept. 20-22). Hosting numerous top-ranked programs, the Bears opened the tournament by defeating No. 15 UC San Diego 14-11 behind a four-goal, four-assist performance by Casabella. Cal followed that up with a strong team effort in a 15-10 win over No. 11 Princeton, getting multi-goal efforts from five players and the first double-digit save outing of the year by redshirt freshman goalkeeper Riley Clansen, who stopped 11 shots.
Clansen topped himself with 14 more saves in the Bears' 12-7 MPSF Invitational Semifinal loss to UCLA and Cal closed out the weekend with a 15-10 defeat to No. 1 Stanford.
TO THE MAX
A two-time All-NCAA Championship First Team honoree and crucial contributor during the Bears' current NCAA three-peat run, Casabella has continuously shown up in big games, with his game high of five goals in last year's 13-11 NCAA championship game win over UCLA providing a sign of things to come in his senior season. He has taken the reins as Cal's go-to player on the offensive end, registering hat tricks in just under half of his appearances thus far for an average of 2.4 goals per game and 35 total goals. His seven goals against No. 4 Pepperdine on Sept. 8 are tied for the second-most goals in a single game of any Bear since 1992.
HOT START
Casabella's Spanish counterpart Roberto Valera owns the same distinction of winning an NCAA title and being named an All-American in each of his first three years at Cal. Despite missing some time over the last three weeks, Valera still ranks ninth in the MPSF in goals (20) thanks to a red-hot start to the season. He led Cal in goals in three of its first four games, highlighted by an eight-goal outburst against Pepperdine that saw him tie for the third-most goals in a game in MPSF history and went down as the most scored by a Cal player since its first year in the MPSF in 1992.
NEW ROLES, NEW FACES
With new responsibilities and opportunities up for grabs among Cal's talented group of returners and newcomers, multiple Bears have made their presence known over the first half of the season.
Redshirt junior Bende Pardi ranks third on the team with 16 goals and senior center George Avakian trails right behind him with 15 goals. Avakian also sits second in the conference with 35 earned exclusions and sixth with six field blocks. Freshman Maddox Arlett sits fifth on the team with 14 goals, followed by junior Nik Mirkovic with 13.
2024 All-America Honorable Mention Ponferrada has been finding his teammates at a high rate, ranking third in the conference in assists (24). He also ranks ninth in points (32) and 10th in field blocks (10).
THE STAFF
Kirk Everist was named ACWPC National Coach of the Year for the fifth time last season after winning his sixth NCAA championship as the Bears' head coach and eighth overall with the program. The USA Water Polo Hall of Famer is in his 23rd season at the helm of the program with an all-time coaching record of 468-140 (.770).
Joining Everist on the staff are third-year assistant coach Jakov Belamaric and former Golden Bear player Iosefa Tuiasau. Tuiasau – who played for Everist from 2009-11 – rejoins the Bears following two successful seasons as an assistant coach at Pacific and a highly successful coaching run in his native New Zealand at the high school, club and international levels. That included serving as an assistant coach for the New Zealand Women's National Team and a stint at Rangitoto College that resulted in numerous trophies.
REPEAT SUCCESS
No men's water polo program has won more national championships than Cal, which claimed its 17th on Dec. 3, 2023, after defeating UCLA 13-11 in the NCAA final. The historic win gave the Bears the distinction of owning three of the four three-peats in NCAA men's water polo history.
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal men's water polo, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWaterPolo) and Instagram (@calmwaterpolo).
