Sept. 18, 2004
LOS ANGELES, CA -
The No. 4-ranked California men's water polo team (7-0) defeated No. 16 UC Davis, 19-7, and No. 5-ranked UC Irvine, 7-6, in the first day of the SoCal Tournament at USC. The Golden Bears will now face No. 2-ranked and defending national champion USC Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at McDonald's Swim Stadium on the USC campus.
In the victory over UC Davis, Cal was led by sophomore center John Mann's five goals, followed by three goals from sophomore driver Brian Bacharach and two goals apiece from sophomore Brian Kinsel, sophomore Jeff Smith and freshman Kevin Platshon. Dan Werner, Tom Kurth, Andrija Vasiljevic, Marty Matthies and Mike Hayes also tallied goals for the Bears. Junior goalie Nate Bennett finished with seven saves and senior goalie Derek Schauffler added another save in a quarter of action.
Cal's victory over UC Irvine was a much tighter contest, as the Bears held a 5-1 halftime lead, only to see the Anteaters outscore Cal, 5-2 in the last two quarters. Still, the Bears held on for the 7-6 win and will now get a chance against USC in the Trojan's home pool. Cal gave USC one of its three losses last season when the Bears upended the Trojans, 8-6, in overtime, at last year's Stanford Invitational. Mann and Bacharach paced Cal with two goals apiece against UC Irvine. Kinsel and freshmen Michael Sharf and Jeff Tyrrell also recorded goals against the Anteaters. Bennett finished with 10 saves versus UC Irvine.
Game #3
#16 UC Davis (2-4) 2-2-2-1---7
#4 Cal (6-0) 6-4-4-5---19
UCD Goals: Michael Long 2, Patrick Jacobsen 2,
Matt Jones, Mark Miles
Cal Goals: John Mann 5, Brian Bacharach 3,
Brian Kinsel 2, Kevin Platshon 2, Jeff Smith 2,
Dan Werner, Tom Kurth, Marty Matthies,
Andrija Vasiljevic, Mike Hayes
UCD Saves: Mike McGee 2 (3 quarters),
Erik Acevado 3 (1 quarter)
Cal Saves: Nate Bennett 7 (3 quarters),
Derek Schauffler 1 (1 quarter)
Game #8
#5 UC Irvine (5-2) 1-0-2-3---6
#4 Cal (7-0) 2-3-0-2---7
UCI Goals: Rick Merlo 3, Dan Noon 2, Colin Mello
Cal Goals: Brian Bacharach 2, John Mann 2, Brian Kinsel,
Jeff Tyrrell, Michael Sharf
UCI Saves: Joe Wynne 7
Cal Saves: Nate Bennett 10
