Oct. 26, 2002

Santa Barbara, Calif. - The No. 3-ranked California men's water polo squad won its third match in a row, holding the No. 13 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos scoreless for three periods in defeating the MPSF-rival, 12-3, at the Recreation Center Pool in Santa Barbara. Four Bears scored in double figures, with Andrew Stoddard leading the way with three goals.

The first quarter saw an offensive blitz on the part of the Bears, however, UCSB freshman goalkeeper Sherwin Kim made four impressive defensive saves. Cal finished the quarter with just a 3-0 lead.

The second quarter was a different story though. Cal exploded offensively, scoring five unanswered goals, leaving Santa Barbara in its wake. Gaucho freshman Ramiro Saldain took a shot that narrowly missed, striking the left goal post and senior Doug Arthur fired a shot of his own, however he too could not find the back of the net and the Bears went into the locker room at the half leading 8-0.

The third quarter began with more Cal offense and solid defense as the Bears rattled off three more goals and again held the Gauchos scoreless.

In the fourth quarter with the Bears up 11-0, Santa Barbara's substitutes came in and provided a spark for the Gaucho offense. Freshman Jarrod Muenter found the back of the net twice and freshman Paul Helfer tossed one home after a spectacular move and assist by Ramiro Saldain. This brought the score to 12-3, but the final horn blew leaving the Gauchos with their fourth consecutive conference loss.

Backup goalkeepers Tim Kates and Nate Bennett each saw action, tallying three and two saves, respectively.

Cal improves to 12-4 overall and 3-2 in the MPSF while UCSB falls to 6-11 overall and 0-4 in the conference. The Bears return to action tomorrow Sunday, October 27, to face Loyola Marymount at noon in Los Angeles.

Cal 12, UC Santa Barbara 3

                    1    2   3   4   Total
UC Santa Barbara    0    0   0   3      3
Cal		               3    5   3   1     12

Cal Scoring: Andrew Stoddard (3), Atilla Banhidy (2), Will Quist (2), Rob Arroyo (2), Chris Lathrop (1), Pat McCann (1), Greg Panawek (1), UCSB Scoring: Jarrod Muenter (2), Paul Helfer (1) Cal Goalkeeping: Tim Kates: 3 saves and 0 goals allowed, Nate Bennet: 2 saves and 3 goals allowed UCSB Goalkeeping: Sherwin Kim: 10 saves and 12 goals allowed