California
UC Davis
10/18/2008 12:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
Oct. 18, 2008
DAVIS, CALIF. -
The No. 3 ranked Cal men's water polo team (11-4), behind three goals from junior Mike Sample, defeated No. 11 UC Davis, 11-2, in a non-conference men's collegiate water polo game at Schaal Aquatics Center in Davis on Saturday afternoon.
After a 2-0 start, the Golden Bears piled on five goals in the second period, four of which came on counter-attack opportunities. The Aggies had a two 6-on-5 chances in that second period, but failed on both tries. Philippe Chordas put the Aggies on the board with his man-up goal with 6:53 in the third, converting a pass from senior Adam Bennett. But Cal responded with two 6-on-5 scores by Sample. On the second, freshman Charlie Steffens drew an exclusion at two meters, then quickly flipped the ball over to Sample by the opposite post.
Against the Aggies, Cal was also paced by sophomore goalie Jacob McIntosh, who shutout UC Davis in the first half and helped Cal limit UC Davis to one goal in each of the final two periods. Senior Captain Frank Reynolds and freshman Luka Saponjic scored two goals while redshirt freshman Charlie Steffens, freshman Ivan Rackov, sophomore Zach White, sophomore Cory Nasoff, and junior Grant Mitchell added one goal each.
"It was a good team effort," said Cal coach Kirk Everist. "Seven different players scoring and six with assists. The team made a goal to focus on defense this game and we held them to 1 goal until the :01 in the game. We are moving in the right direction."
Cal returns home after two weeks on the road to play a conference match against No. 4 UCLA. The Bears defeated the Bruins 12-11 in overtime in the third place match at the SoCal Open last weekend. UCLA defeated the Bears 6-4 in the semifinals of the NorCal Open Sept. 21.
CALIFORNIA 11, UC Davis 2
No. 11 UC Davis 0 0 1 1 - 2
No. 3 California 2 5 3 1 - 11
California Goals: Mike Sample 3, Frank Reynolds 2, Luka Saponjic 2, Ivan Rackov, Zach White, Grant Mitchell, Cory Nasoff
UC Davis Goals: Philippe Chordas, Luke Collins
California Saves: Jacob McIntosh 8 (3.5 Quarters) Wil Toppen 2 (0.5 Quarters)
Assists 2 Rackov Steffens 1 Saponjic Reynolds Calder
Steals 4 Warden 2 Steffens 1 Saponjic Orloff Rackov Sample Dudley Reynolds Calder Roach
Ejections Earned 1 Rackov Warden Stampfl Bickham
Field Blocks 1 Orloff White Saponjic
Sprints Won Rackov 2 Nasoff 1
Goalie Mcintosh (3.5 qtrs) Saves 8 Assists 3 Steals 3 Toppen (.5 qtrs) Saves 2
6 on 5 2 for 4
5 Man 1 for 7
