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California Golden Bears Athletics
California
MPSF Tournament
No. 3 Cal Men's Water Polo Falls to No. 1 USC, 11-8, in MPSF Semifinal Match
11/29/2003 12:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 29, 2003
LONG BEACH, CA - The No. 3 ranked Cal men's water polo team (20-7) fell to No. 1 ranked USC (21-3), 11-8, Saturday in the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach. The Bears were upended by the top-ranked Trojans despite a furious fourth quarter comeback in which Cal outscored USC, 4-1. The Bears were led by redshirt freshman Brian Kinsel's three goals, and 11 saves from senior goalie Tim Kates.
The fourth-seeded Bears, who were trying to repeat as MPSF Tournament champions, had fallen behind, 5-2, after the first period. Both teams tallied single goals in the second period for a 6-3 USC halftime advantage. The Trojans took control of the match in the third period when they outscored Cal, 4-1, for a 10-4 lead entering the fourth and final period. The USC offensive attack was led by James Shin and Juraj Zatovic, each posting hat-tricks for the contest. Senior Will Quist, senior Greg Panawek, junior Joe Born and true freshmen John Mann and Andrija Vasiljevic also scored goals for the Bears.
Cal will now play No. 4 ranked UCLA in the tournament's third-place match, Sunday, Nov. 30 at 3 p.m. at the Belmont Plaza Pool. The Bears are 0-1 against the Bruins this season, falling, 7-6 in overtime, Oct. 18 at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center.
Game 7 1-2-3-4=F California 2-1-1-4=8 USC 5-1-4-1=11CAL - Kinsel (3), Quist, Mann, Vasiljevic, Panawek, Born USC - Shin (3), Zatovic (3), Clark, Hale, Damjanov, Hadar, Erik Healy Goalkeepers - CAL - Kates (11 GA A, 11 saves), USC - Damjanovic (7 GA A, 5 saves), Ricci (1 GA A)
