California Golden Bears Athletics
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No. 3 Cal Men's Water Polo Loses to No. 2 Stanford, 5-3, in The Big Splash
11/22/2003 12:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 22, 2003
STANFORD, CA - The No. 3 ranked Cal men's water polo team (19-6) fell to No. 2 ranked Stanford (19-3), 5-3, Saturday morning in The Big Splash at the Avery Aquatic Center at Stanford. The Cardinal, who captured The Steve Heaston Trophy for the second time since 1999, were led by sophomore goalie Chad Taylor, who responded to several Bear shots on goal by recording a career-high 12 saves. Cal received single goals from seniors Attila Banhidy and Greg Panawek, and true freshman Andrija Vasiljevic.
After a scoreless first period, the Bears produced the first goal of the contest with 6:14 left in the second period on a shot by Vasiljevic. Stanford then took control of the match by rattling off the next five goals. Peter Varellas tied the match, 1-1, at 5:57 in the second period, followed by goals at 4:16 by Sam Tyre, at 3:00 by Greg Crum and with 22 seconds left in the half by Tony Azevedo.
Stanford's fifth straight goal was scored with 6:10 left in the third period by Thomas Hopkins. Cal finally stopped the Cardinal's scoring at 5:04 in the third quarter on a Panawek goal. The only goal allowed in the fourth period was Banhidy's shot with seven seconds remaining in the match.
Cal is now 1-3 versus the Cardinal this season - losing 10-5 Sept. 21 at the SoCal Tournament, winning 10-9 in sudden death overtime Oct. 5 to win the NorCal Tournament, and losing 10-8 Nov. 9 at Cal. Both teams will now travel to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament, Nov. 28-30, at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, Calif. The Bears are the No. 4 seeded team in the MPSF Tournament and will face No. 5 seeded Long Beach State on Friday, Nov. 28 at 3 p.m.
California (19-6) 0 1 1 1 = 3 Stanford (19-3) 0 4 1 0 = 5California Scorers: Vasiljevic 1, Panawek 1, Banhidy 1 Stanford Scorers: Azevedo 1, Varellas 1, Tyre 1, Crum 1, Hopkins 1
Goalie Saves: Kates (C) 3; Taylor (S) 12
