Bears Comeback Effort Falls Short
BERKELEY – The No. 9 California men's water polo team had a chance to cut a five-goal deficit to just one in the final minutes on Sunday against No. 11 Princeton, but the Golden Bears' late rally came up short as they fell 11-9, ending a three-game win streak.
Freshman Alex Oprea led Cal (11-8) with three goals, doing most of his damage in the second half. With the Bears trailing 11-6 in the fourth, Oprea secured his hat trick on a penalty with 3:27 remaining. Cal scored again just 23 seconds later after a William Kelly steal led to a long assist from goalkeeper Max LaGrange to junior Nik Mirkovic.
Center George Avakian – who finished with two goals and four earned exclusions – made it an 11-9 game off a pass from Max Casabella with 1:34 to go. An Oprea steal on Princeton's (16-8) next possession led to a good look for Bende Pardi on the opposite end, but his shot just missed the mark.
Cal had trailed since the first quarter. Despite opening-period goals from Maddox Arlett and Kelly, the Bears ended the first frame down 4-2.
Oprea snuck in a goal from the right wing just before halftime to cut the Tiger advantage to 6-4. He opened the second half with a nearly identical strike on a power play to make it 6-5, but Princeton responded with a 4-1 run to end the period.
Casabella ended his day with two assists, two steals and a block to go with his lone goal of the day in the second quarter. Oprea had one assist and two earned exclusions along with notching his second hat trick of the year. Goalkeeper Max LaGrange finished with seven saves.
Cal will get a week off from action before returning to host their final home games of the season against UCLA (Nov. 2) and USC (Nov. 3).
No. 11 Princeton 11, No. 9 California 9
Cal 2 2 2 3 – 9
Prin 4 2 4 1 – 11
Cal Goals: Oprea 3, Avakian 2, Arlett, Casabella, Mirkovic, Kelly
Prin Goals: Pozaric 4, Palcza 3, Caras, Nuño, LeSieur, McCarroll
Cal Saves: Max LaGrange 7
Prin Saves: Kristóf Kovács 16
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal men's water polo, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWaterPolo) and Instagram (@calmwaterpolo).
