BERKELEY – Another sunny day in Berkeley brought more solid play from the No. 2-ranked Cal men's water polo team as the Bears took advantage of a strong first half to beat No. 7 UC Santa Barbara 13-9 at Spieker Aquatics Complex.

With a pro-Cal crowd enjoying another picture-perfect day in Berkeley, Cal (12-1) got rolling right away against the Gauchos. Johnny Hooper got the Bears on the board, bouncing a penalty shot past the UCSB goalkeeper after Thomas Carroll drew the foul with good activity in close. UCSB got two chances on the power play, but after the Bears killed both Gaucho opportunities, Odysseas Masmanidis made it 2-0 Bears with a goal from two meters.

A penalty shot converted by Connor Reid gave Cal a 3-1 lead at the end of one period, and the Bears continued to pile on in the second with goals from Carroll, Pedro Stellet, Conor Neumann, Nicholas Carniglia, Masmanidis and Reid. A quality half in goal from Lazar Andric helped the lead grow and by the midway point Cal led 9-2.

UC Santa Barbara turned up its intensity in the second half while Cal's focus waned a bit, and by the end of the third quarter the Gauchos had trimmed the Bears' lead to five at 12-7. Neither team clicked offensively in the fourth quarter, and stretches of sloppy play kept the scoring to a minimum with the Bears hanging on for a four-goal victory.

Masmanidis led the Bears on the scoresheet with three goals while Stellet, Reid, Hooper and Neumann each had two. Carniglia and Carroll rounded out the scoring. Andric had a busy day in net, stopping 18 shots in the victory.
Cal returns to Spieker on Sunday at 1 p.m. to take on San Jose State in another non-conference match. The Bears host Long Beach State on Thursday at 7 p.m. and the 2016 alumni game is set for Oct. 15 at 10 a.m.