MALIBU – Freshman standout Luca Cupido led Cal with three goals as the Golden Bears powered past Pepperdine, 15-6, Saturday in an MPSF league match in Malibu. With the win, Cal improves to 18-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play. The Bears were also bolstered by the scoring of senior Blake Kelly, senior Aleksa Saponjic, junior Colin Mulcahy and redshirt freshman J.D. Ratchford with two goals apiece.

Other highlights for Kirk Everist's squad were senior goalie Jon Sibley finishing with seven saves in the second half, while Saponjic paced Cal with five steals. The Bears showed balanced scoring with senior Matt Russell, junior Thomas Agramonte and freshmen Nicholas Carniglia and Conor Neumann also notching goals for Cal.

The win over the Waves broke a two-match losing streak for the Bears, who had fallen to USC in the finals of the SoCal Tournament and to UCLA in an MPSF contest.

Cal will next travel to UC Irvine on Sunday, Oct. 26, for a noon match at Anteater Pool.

PEP 1-4-0-1---6
CAL 3-5-3-4---15

PEP Goals: Luke Hewko 3, Wesley Sherburne 3.

PEP Goalie: Zack Rhodes 10 saves.

CAL Goals: Luca Cupido 3, Blake Kelly 2, Colin Mulcahy 2, J.D. Ratchford 2, Aleska Saponjic 2, Thomas Agramonte 1, Nicholas Carniglia 1, Conor Neumann 1, Matt Russell 1.

CAL Goalies: Lazar Andric 2 quarters/4 saves/5 goals allowed, Jon Sibley 2 quarters/7 saves/1 goal allowed.

6-on-5 Opportunities: Pepperdine 2-for-13, California 4-for-11.