LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Given how close the three previous meetings were between the Cal men's water polo team and Pacific this season, goalkeeper Lazar Andric probably had an idea that doing the little things right would be crucial if the Bears wanted to beat the Tigers in their Mountain Pacific Sports Federation semifinal.

It was Andric who did not only the little things but also the heavy lifting as Cal's goalkeeper made a career-high 20 saves to help the No. 3 Bears pull out a 7-5 victory over the No. 2 Tigers and advance to Sunday's MPSF title match against No. 1 UCLA. That game will begin at 4:30 p.m. and be televised live on both Pac-12 Bay Area and Pac-12 Los Angeles.

As expected, the match remained tight right until the final buzzer. Cal (23-5) took the final lead of the game with three seconds left in the third period when Luca Cupido struck for the Bears, putting them up 6-5 heading to the final eight minutes of the match.

Neither team scored for the next several minutes, with seemingly everything but the back of the net coming into play. Both Andric and Pacific goalkeeper Brady Moore made key saves and other shots hit either the posts or the crossbar to stay out. Finally, it was Cal that broke through when freshman Odysseas Masmanidis made just enough space in front of goal and fired past Moore to make it 7-5 Bears with 1:35 left to play.

That put the game out of reach and Andric finished his standout evening with one more save to help bring the game to a close. As has usually been the case this season, the scoresheet showed the balanced nature of Cal's offensive attack as Masmanidis led the way with just two goals. Chandler Jarrels, Colin Mulcahy, Johnny Hooper and Timothy Simenc also scored for the Bears, who led 3-2 after one period and 4-3 at halftime. 

Cal's 6 on 5 defense played a huge part in the victory. Pacific earned 12 power play chances but didn't cash in one, and Andric also stopped two of the three penalty shots he faced. Neither team scored on the 6 on 5 as Cal also went 0 for 3 with the man advantage.

Saturday's match was the fourth meeting between the Bears and Tigers this season and Cal pushed its record against Pacific to 3-1 with the win. The Bears also own a pair of double overtime wins but the Tigers won the conference match between the two in Berkeley on Nov. 7. Now, Cal faces UCLA for the fourth time this season after the undefeated Bruins (27-0) beat USC 6-3 on Saturday in the other semifinal. Cal led for three periods last time it faced UCLA before the Bruins pulled out an 8-7 win.