California
NorCal Invitational
10/3/2004 12:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
Oct. 3, 2004
STOCKTON, CA - The No. 3-ranked California men's water polo team (10-3) placed fourth at the NorCal Tournament, falling to No. 2 Stanford, 12-7, in the semifinals, and 14-10 to No. 1 ranked USC in the third-place match Sunday at Chris Kjeldsen Pool on the Pacific campus. On Saturday, the Golden Bears had defeated No. 15 UC Davis, 12-5, and No. 11-ranked Loyola Marymount, 8-4.
Cal was the defending 2003 NorCal Tournament champions, having upset then-No. 1 ranked USC, 8-6, in the semifinals, and No. 2 ranked Stanford, 10-9, in sudden death overtime in the title match last season.
Against the Cardinal, the Bears were led by sophomore John Mann's three goals, with sophomore Brian Bacharach, senior Keola Richardson, sophomore Marty Matthies and freshman Michael Sharf adding a goal apiece. Stanford had a slight 3-2 lead after the first period, but outscored the Bears, 5-2, in the second period to take control of the match.
Versus the top-ranked Trojans, Sharf was Cal's scoring leader with three goals. Sophomore Andrija Vasiljevic added two goals and Mann, sophomore Brian Kinsel, sophomore Dan Werner, freshman Kevin Platshon and freshman Jeff Tyrrell also scored for the Bears. Junior goalie Nate Bennett finished with six saves. USC owned a 3-1 lead after the first period, then outscored Cal 10-4 in the second and third periods to take a 13-5 lead. The Bears did battled back by outscoring the Trojans, 5-1, in the fourth period, but the margin was too great and Cal fell, 14-10. It was the second time this season the Bears have fallen to defending national champion USC, as Cal lost, 11-6, Sept. 16 in the semifinals of the SoCal Tournament in Los Angeles.
Game 31- Stanford vs. California Teams 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Total Stan 3 5 2 2 12 Cal 2 2 1 2 7 GoalsScored Stanford: Azevedo 4, Crum 3, Moser 2, Varellas, Fortune, Hopkins California: Mann 3, Bacharach, Richardson, Matthies, Sharf GoalieSaves: Stanford: 3 (Taylor 3) California: 2 (Bennett 2)Game 39- USC vs. California (3rd Place) Teams 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Total USC 3 5 5 1 14 Cal 1 2 2 5 10 GoalsScored USC: Hale 4, Shin 3, Cook 2, Zatovic 2, Van Norman 2, Andrejich California: Sharf 3, Vasiljevic 2, Mann, Kinsel, Werner, Platshon, Tyrrell GoalieSaves: USC: 9 (Shilling 9) California: 6 (Bennett 6)
