Nov. 28, 2004

STANFORD, CA - Led by sophomore Brian Bacharach's three goals and two goals by sophomore John Mann, the No. 4-ranked California men's water polo team (20-10) captured its final match of the 2004 MPSF Tournament, defeating No. 9-ranked UC Santa Barbara, 7-6, Sunday at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Complex. The Golden Bears finished seventh in the MPSF Tournament after losing two heartbreaking matches, falling to defending national champion USC, 10-8 in overtime on Friday, and 4-3 to No. 7-ranked Pepperdine on Saturday.

Mann scored what proved to be the winning goal with 3:49 to play in the match to lift Cal to the victory over the Gauchos. Brian Alexander, who led UC Santa Barbara with four goals, got UCSB within one goal, 7-6, with 53 seconds remaining. Alexander had given the Gauchos a 1-0 led with 1:57 in the first period. But two goals by Bacharach put the Bears in front 2-1, and Cal never trailed the rest of the match. The Bears scored four goals in the second period to give them enough cushion to hold off UC Santa Barbara. Senior captain Keola Richardson and sophomore Andrija Vasiljevic also tallied goals for Cal.

Cal 0 4 2 1 = 7
UCSB 1 1 2 2 = 6
Cal Scorers: Bacharach 3, Mann 2, Richardson,
Vasiljevic
UCSB Scorers: Alexander 4, Bauer 1, Schoneberger 1
Goalie Saves: Bennett (C) 5; Bonafede (UCSB) 13
Sunday's Results
MPSF Men's Water Polo Tournament
Avery Aquatic Center - Stanford University
Stanford 7, UCLA 6 - 1st place
USC 7, UC Irvine 4 - 3rd place
Long Beach State 9, Pepperdine 8 - 5th place
California 8, UC Santa Barbara 7 - 7th place