March 2, 2002

BERKELEY, Calif. - The California women's water polo team was defeated by USC for the third time this season, this time at Spieker Aquatics Complex in Berkeley this afternoon. With the loss, the Bears fall to 6-5 and even their conference record at 1-1. USC improves to 11-2 overall with the win.

Brenna Fleener, Jodie Needles and Julia Cesnik led the way for the Bears with two goals apiece. It is the second consecutive match that the trio had two scores each to lead Cal, as their combined six goals marked half of the offense's output versus Hawaii. Unfortunately for the Bears, the Trojan defense shut down any other potential scorers, as only three other Cal players were able to manage a shot. Goalie Lauren Davis continued her solid play in her first season as Cal's No. 1 goaltender, saving ten shots.

The Bears got down early in the first period, as the Trojans scored three goals in just a little over two minutes to close the period, leaving the score at 4-1. The teams traded three goals apiece in the second. Entering the second half, Cal seemingly began to get its game on track. Dennis came up with several remarkable saves, and the Bears scored two to bring their deficit to one, as well as bringing their supporters back into the game. The teams traded goals once again, the scoreboard now reading 8-7, USC. However, that's when the Trojan offense resurrected itself, and despite the best efforts of the Cal defense, the scoreboard was lit up with another three goals in a little over two minutes.

Cal continues its homestand next weekend, with fellow Mountain Pacific Sports Federation schools UC Irvine and San Diego State traveling to Spieker to challenge the Bears. The Anteaters visit Friday at 4 p.m., and the Aztecs arrive at noon on Saturday.

RECAP
California: 6-5
USC: 11-2

BOX SCORE

	1	2	3	4	F
USC	4	3	1	3	11
Cal	1	3	2	1	7

SCORING
Cal: Needles 2, Fleener 2, Cesnik 2, Lorenz
USC: Knoukh 3, Gyori 3, Wengst 2, Dierolf 2, Pelle

GOALIE SAVES
Cal: Dennis 10
USC: Mix 7