LOS ANGELES, Calif. - An early deficit put the Cal men's water polo team in a position to scramble and the Bears couldn't come all the way back despite a valiant effort late in the match as they fell 9-6 to USC in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships at UCLA.

Cal will return to Spieker Aquatics Center on Sunday at 4 p.m. to take on UC San Diego in the third-place match. The Bears will carry a 23-7 record into play.

USC took a 4-2 lead through one period, with single goals by Lachlan and Blake Edwards combining with a pair of goals by Nick Bell to give the Trojans the lead. Johnny Hooper and Luca Cupido scored to  keep the Bears in the game, but USC took the momentum to the second period.

Neither offense found much in the second period as the Trojans took a 5-3 lead to halftime. Cal looked like it had the momentum back for a moment late in the third period as goals by Cupido and Farrel South ignited the Bears' bench, but USC countered with three goals of its own in the period to lead 8-5.

USC goalkeeper McQuin Baron made a big difference for the Trojans throughout the night, stopping 19 shots to keep Cal at bay. Lazar Andric stopped eight shots for Cal. Senior Colin Mulcahy and junior Chandler Jarrels also found the net for the Bears, as they dropped the rubber match in a three-game series against the Trojans this season.

"I thought USC came out with a lot of energy and they played excellent defense. We didn't get the things offensively that we have in the past," Cal coach Kirk Everist said. "They beat us on the 6 on 5, we drew more ejections and penalty shots. We were 3 for 10, they were 6 for 9. They attacked us pretty quickly and got on us pretty good in that phase of the game and, a lot of times, that's what makes the difference. We just couldn't get the momentum going our way for a good period of time."