Cal Defeats Stanford In Big Splash Thriller
BERKELEY – Playing in front of a packed Spieker Aquatics Complex crowd on Saturday morning, the No. 9 California men's water polo team came away with a dramatic late-game victory, scoring three unanswered goals in the final minutes to claim a 13-11 win over rival No. 1 Stanford.
Max Casabella scored a go-ahead goal on a power play with 27 seconds left – his fifth of the day – and the Golden Bears (11-7, 1-2 MPSF) got one last crucial stop on the Cardinal's (14-2, 2-1) next possession to clinch their first win of the season over a top-five team.
Starting for the third straight game, redshirt sophomore Max LaGrange put together an electric performance in front of the cage for all four quarters, racking up a career-best 10 saves.
"We played for each other today," LaGrange said. "The defense was on it, the offense was special towards the end, firing away. It was a great day."
With the Bears trailing by two late in the third, LaGrange caught Stanford's defense sleeping with an incredible length-of-the-pool goal, sending the Bear faithful into a frenzy and cutting Stanford's lead to 10-9 heading into the final frame.
"It feels absolutely insane getting the opportunity to play in this lovely place," said LaGrange. "I love firing up the crowd. It's what I do."
William Kelly fed Casabella for an equalizer on Cal's first possession of the fourth quarter, but the Cardinal regained the lead with 4:33 to go. Two minutes later, the Bears worked it around until Jake Howerton squeezed one past Stanford's defense to tie it 11-11.
A big steal by Ryder Hagan was quickly followed by a Cardinal exclusion with 54 seconds remaining, leading to a timeout and Casabella's subsequent winner. After Stanford's game-tying attempt went off the post, Nik Mirkovic found William Kelly all alone for an empty-net goal with four seconds left to seal the deal.
Casabella notched his first goal of the day on a highlight shot-clock buzzer beater from near the middle of the pool, giving Cal a 1-0 lead in the first. Stanford responded with a 3-0 run and the Bears played catch up over the next two quarters, staying within striking distance behind six big first-half saves by LaGrange.
Momentum shifted in the third as the Bears struck with back-to-back goals from Casabella and Albert Ponferrada on their first two possessions to tie it 7-7. Bende Pardi added his loan goal of the day to give Cal an 8-7 edge midway through the period.
It was the second straight five-goal game for Casabella and his team-leading third of the season. Ponferrada finished with two goals and four assists. Center George Avakian drew four exclusions.
Following the big win, Cal will be right back at it Sunday morning for an 11 a.m. PT home matchup with No. 11 Princeton.
No. 9 California 13, No. 1 Stanford 11
Cal 2 3 4 4 – 13
Stan 3 4 3 1 – 11
Cal Goals: Casabella 5, Ponferrada 2, LaGrange, Howerton, Oprea, Mirkovic, Pardi, Kelly
Stan Goals: Jensen 7, Pittman, Gheorghe, Balogh, Painter
Cal Saves: Max LaGrange 10
Stan Saves: West Temkin 10
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