BERKELEY - After tying the game in the fourth period and nearly forging ahead, the No. 2-ranked Cal men's water polo team couldn't quite get the big goal it needed to overcome No. 1 UCLA as the Bears dropped an action-packed 7-6 decision to the Bruins at Spieker Aquatics Complex.

Facing a 5-4 deficit heading into the final quarter, Cal (14-2) didn't take long to even the score. After UCLA seemingly killed off a Bears power play, freshman Safak Simsek turned one big swing into a goal as he fired a shot just to the left of Bruins goalkeeper Garrett Danner to tie the game at 5 with 7:19 left to play.

26 seconds later, Jack Grover put UCLA (21-0) back in front with a goal of his own, and that's where the score stayed as the clock wound inside four minutes. Cal again got back to level with 3:42 to play as Conor Neumann drew a foul, found Johnny Hooper on the wing and Hooper dished inside to Odysseas Masmanidis, who spun and beat Danner to make it 6-all.

UCLA got a big chance with just under three minutes to play as two Cal exclusions brought a 6 on 4 opportunity for the Bruins. Lazar Andric kept the tie intact though, stopping a UCLA shot to bring Spieker to life.

Eventually, the Bruins pushed ahead. Patrick Fellner scored with 2:07 remaining and UCLA was able to keep the Bears out of the cage for the remainder of the match to earn its NCAA-record 54th consecutive win. 

"We had a couple good opportunities after we tied it at 5 that could have gotten us that 6-5 lead but we just couldn't do it," Cal head coach Kirk Everist said. "Garrett came out of the goal a couple times on opportunities we had and made good saves. At the end of the day, you tip your hat. We're making progress. We'll see them again, I know."

A game that was largely a defensive slugfest ended with Masmanidis at the top of the scoring column with two goals. Simsek, Luca Cupido, Connor Reid and Conor Neumann each scored a goal as well. Andric added nine saves and Cupido led the team defensively as well with four steals.

Cal returns to action Sunday night when it travels to Stockton to take on Pacific at 7. That game will be streamed live on PacificTigers.com and live updates will be available through the @CalWaterPolo Twitter account.