California Golden Bears Athletics
California
Navy
No. 4 Cal Men's Water Polo Defeats Iona, 26-1; Navy 16-8 and 13-4 at Navy Open
9/5/2009 12:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 5, 2009
ANNAPOLIS, MD. - In a busy day in which the No. 4-ranked Cal men's water polo team (3-0) played three matches at the Navy Open in Annapolis, Md., the Golden Bears defeated Iona, 26-1 in a morning match, and upended No. 12-ranked and host Navy, 16-8 and 13-4 in an evening doubleheader. Cal is now 22-0 in their six years of competing at the Navy Open.
During the second match of the Navy doubleheader, the Bears were led by redshirt freshman Spencer White's four goals, and two goals apiece from junior Zach White and sophomore Ivan Rackov. True freshman goalie Justin Parsons notched 11 saves. Cal broke away from a 4-2 first period lead by outscoring the Midshipmen, 4-0, in the second quarter for an 8-2 halftime lead on the way to the 13-4 win.
In the 16-8 Bear win over Navy in the first game of the doubleheader, Cal was led by Rackov's five goals and junior goalie Jacob McIntosh's 11 saves. The Bears had jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first period and continued the pressure by outscoring Navy 3-2 in the second period, 4-2 in the third period and 5-4 in the fourth period for the final eight goal margin of victory.
In the Iona match, 13 different players scored for Cal, led by junior center Zach White's four goals and three goals apiece from senior Mike Sample, junior college transfer Iosefa Tuiasau (Wellington, New Zealand/West Valley College) and sophomore Cory Nasoff. Cal outscored Iona 9-1 in the first quarter and then posted a shutout to rest of the way, scoring seven goals in the second period and five goals in both the third and fourth periods. Junior college transfer Tuiasau had a big match with three goals in his first contest with the Bears, while redshirt freshmen Mason Cox and Spencer White notched a pair of goals apiece in their first collegiate action.
Senior captain Sample also had a fine match with a team-high four assists and three field blocks. In the goalie cage, sophomore Wil Toppen played the first half and recorded three saves, two assists and a steal. In the second half, Parsons tallied seven saves in his first collegiate match.
"I felt we got some good work done today," said Cal coach Kirk Everist. "The team played under control for the most part. Defensively we need to maintain consistency. We gave up too many opportunities in the second half versus Navy in the first game. Six goals in the second half is too much for us. We started to look to offense before we secured the ball and Navy took advantage of our over aggressiveness."
Cal will next play No. 18-ranked Bucknell at 9:15 a.m. ET and the University of Toronto in an exhibition match at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 6 during the final day of the Navy Open.
Cal 13, Navy 4 Match Two Cal 4 4 3 2 13 Navy 2 0 1 1 4 Cal Goals: Spencer White 4, Zach White 2, Ivan Rackov 2, Iosefa Tuiasau, Mike Sample, Zach Greenwood, Jack Stampfl, Travis Bickham.Cal Goalie Saves: Justin Parsons 11
Cal 16, Navy 8 Match One Cal 4 3 4 5 16 Navy 0 2 2 4 8 Cal Goals: Ivan Rackov 5, Zach White 2, Cory Nasoff 2, Iosefa Tuiasau 2, Mike Sample, Mason Cox, Spencer White, Spencer Warden, Travis Bickham.
Cal Goalie Saves: Jacob McIntosh 11, Justin Parsons 2
Cal 26, Iona 1 Iona 1 0 0 0 1 Cal 9 7 5 5 26
Iona Goal: Ryan Oldendorf. Cal Goals: Zach White 4, Cory Nasoff 3, Mike Sample 3, Iosefa Tuiasau 3, Mason Cox 2, Ivan Rackov 2, Spencer White 2, Bryan Schnugg 2, Zach Greenwood, Charlie Steffens, Travis Bickham, Spencer Warden, Jack Stampfl.
Cal Goalie Saves: Wil Toppen 3, Justin Parsons
