Nov. 24, 2001

Berkeley, CA - California continued its Cinderella bid today, holding off a late run by UCLA, besting the second-seeded Bruin team, 9-7, before an overflowing Spieker Aquatics Complex. The win means that Cal will advance to tomorrow's championship match against arch-rival Stanford, set to begin at 3:30 p.m. at Cal.

The two teams traded goals and streaks throughout the match, although UCLA held the lead for only 15 seconds late in the second quarter. Cal's largest lead came after a streak in which the Bears scored four unanswered goals in a 3:33 span late in the match. The two teams also tied it up four times throughout the game.

The seven goals scored today by UCLA surpass the number Cal has allowed in the last two games, having only allowed six scores over that span. The nine goals scored by the Bears also matches Cal's offensive output during that span. Despite the resurgence of the offense, Cal head coach Peter Asch still looks to his defense to come up big.

"The key to the game was still the defense," said Asch. "They triggered our fast breaks. On defense, you play more as a team. (The players) build confidence and feel good about themselves (on defense)."

Attila Banhidy, who scored two goals in yesterday's upset of third-ranked USC, came up large on offense today, putting four shots past UCLA's Brandon Brooks. Joe Kaiser, who started off fast but has been quiet in recent weeks, also had three scores.

"(Banhidy) did a great job today," said Asch. "A lot of guys came up big for us. Mike West had the goal that put us up 3-1. Spencer (Dornin) was so consistent, drawing four-meter (penalty shots). We really spread it around a lot."

In goal, Russell Bernstein, who had his third straight complete game, once again put his talents on display, stopping nine Bruin shots. On the other side of the water, Brandon Brooks also performed well for the Bruins, saving eight. The Bruins also had a balanced scoring attack, with three different players scoring two goals.

UCLA will face off against No. 5 Long Beach State in the third-place match tomorrow. Play begins at Spieker Aquatics Complex at 2:00 p.m.

Box Score

		1	2	3	4	Final
UCLA		1	2	2	2	7
Cal		2	2	2	3	9

Scoring
UCLA: Flesher 2, Ormsby 2, Tucay 2, Garcia 1
Cal: Banhidy 4, Kaiser 3, Dornin 1, West 1

Saves
UCLA: Brooks 8
Cal: Bernstein 9