Nov. 23, 2001

BERKELEY - Host California advanced to the semi-finals of the MPSF Tournament today, upsetting the third-seeded USC team by a 5-3 mark before a near-capacity crowd at Berkeley's Spiker Aquatics Complex.

Cal avenges a 9-8 overtime loss to USC two weeks ago, which dropped Cal to the sixth seed in the tournament and forced the rematch. This also marks Cal's second consecutive upset of a higher ranked team, as the Golden Bears handed top-seeded Stanford its first loss of the season last Saturday afternoon.

"The key to the last two weeks has been our team defense," said Cal head coach Peter Asch. "We're not getting anyone isolated, and we're pressing without fouling."

Asch also went on to say that the last two games have been the Bears' best games defensively.

The usual suspects showcased their talents today for cal, with both Spencer Dornin and Attila Banhidy stepping up and giving the Trojans their A-game. Dornin finished the match with three goals, and Banhidy, who was Cal's scoring leader during the regular season, put two in the net. Russell Bernstein, playing his second straight full game in goal, put up eight saves.

The Bears defense also quieted Trojan scoring leaders Daniel Lontay and Predrag Damjanov, both of whom failed to score a goal. Jeff Larson scored two in the losing effort, and goalie Bozidar Damjanovic blocked four shots.

Cal never trailed in the match although it was close all the way. Dornin kicked things off by scoring a goal less than 30 seconds into the game, which Larson quickly answered before a minute had elapsed. Banhidy put in a goal late in the first to put the Bears up 2-1 at the first break.

Both teams scored twice in the second period, and both were held scoreless in the third. With both teams playing tight defense and the scoreboard reading 4-3, Dornin winged a four-meter penalty shot past Damjanovic to put the nail in the Trojan coffin.

The Bears move on in the main draw, and will play the winner of the UCLA/UC Santa Barbara match tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. USC shifts over to the consolation bracket, and faces the loser of the same game Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

Box Score

		1	2	3	4	Total
USC		1	2	0	0	3
California	2	2	0	1	5

Scoring
USC: Larson 2, Hadar 1
California: Dornin 3, Banhidy 2

Saves
USC: Damjanovic 4 California: Bernstein 8