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California Golden Bears Athletics
California
Pepperdine
No. 1 Cal Water Polo Defeats No. 3 Pepperdine, 8-7, in Malibu
10/19/2003 12:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
Oct. 19, 2003
MALIBU, CA - Led by senior Attila Banhidy's three goals, and 11 saves from sophomore goalie Nate Bennett, the No. 1 ranked Cal men's water polo team defeated No. 3 Pepperdine, 8-7, Sunday at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool in Malibu.
The Bears (13-4, 1-2) were able to rebound after a heartbreaking 7-6 sudden death overtime loss at No. 5 UCLA Saturday to defeat the Waves and win their first MPSF match of the season. Besides Banhidy and Kates exploits, freshman Andrija Vasiljevic recorded two goals and senior Will Quist and freshmen Brian Bacharach and John Mann had a goal apiece.
Cal started off the match well, outscoring Pepperdine, 4-2, in the first period on a pair of Vasiljevic goals and goals from Mann and Quist. The Bears extended their lead to 5-2 at the half when Banhidy scored with 4:28 in the second period. Banhidy tacked on two more goals in the third period to give Cal a 7-5 advantage after three periods.
The Waves got within 7-6 in the fourth period when Jesse Smith scored with 6:10 left in the match. Freshman Bacharach extended the Bears lead to two goals when he scored with 3:08 left in the contest. Smith scored against for Pepperdine with 2:09 left, but Cal was able to hang on for the final 8-7 tally.
The Bears next head back to Spieker Aquatics Complex, hosting UC Irvine on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 10 a.m.; and Long Beach State, Sunday, Oct. 26 at 12 p.m.
1 2 3 4 F Cal 4 1 2 1 8 Pepperdine 2 0 3 2 7
Cal: Attila Banhidy 3, Andrija Vasiljevic 2, Will Quist, Brian Bacharach, John Mann Pep: Jesse Smith 3, Morgan Matthies 2, Michael Hausmann, Josh Acosta
Saves: Nate Bennett- Cal (11) Saves: Ben Tait- Pepperdine (11)
