BERKELEY - After an 11-10 win over Stanford brought the curtain down on the 2016 regular season, the No. 3-ranked Cal men's water polo team took a moment to celebrate the fact that the Steve Heaston Trophy will live in Berkeley for another year.

But, although it was also Senior Day, the Bears' four upperclassmen weren't necessarily focused on the fact that Saturday's victory came in their last regular season match at Spieker Aquatics Complex, because in a few short weeks, Cal hopes to again be playing in its own pool with even more on the line.

The Bears closed their regular season out with a strong first three periods against the No. 6 Cardinal. A 5-3 Cal lead at halftime turned into a 10-6 advantage by the end of three thanks to a pair of goals by Luca Cupido and one apiece from Johnny Hooper, Odysseas Masmanidis and Thomas Carroll.

And, that cushion proved necessary thanks to a fourth period charge by No. 6 Stanford. A goal by Blake Parrish with 1:37 left cut Cal's lead to 11-9 but the Bears were able to run the clock out and a goal by Stanford's Cody Smith with six seconds left proved immaterial as Cal (18-3) held on for the victory over its Bay Area rival.

"First two quarters were amazing. The last quarter got us in a little bit of trouble," said Cal goalkeeper Lazar Andric. "11-10 at the end was not the score that should have been but we still won. We have to learn from that and move forward."

Andric was recognized before the match with fellow seniors Farrel South, Chandler Jarrels and Carroll to celebrate their contributions as Golden Bears and all four played a role in Saturday's victory. Cal's senior goalkeeper turned in one of his best performances in a blue and gold cap, stopping 20 shots to tie his career high. He also had four steals.

Offensively, Cupido and Masmanidis led the way with three goals apiece. Johnny Hooper added two goals along with three assists while Nicholas Carniglia, Carroll and Vassilis Tzavaras each scored a goal. 

With Saturday's win, the Bears ensured that the Steve Heaston Trophy, which is awarded annually to the winner of the Big Splash, remains in Berkeley for another year. The trophy, which is named after the former Cal coach who alongside Pete Cutino helped build the legacy of Cal Water Polo and went on to lead the Bears to three national titles as a head coach, was hoisted by the Bears and members of the Heaston family on the pool deck after the match.

"I think that trophy is a special one for everybody because so many of us played for him. I was lucky enough to have him as an assistant coach before he took over as head coach," head coach Kirk Everist said. "He was just a great man with a great family and it means so much to them so it means a lot to our players. We like to hand that down because most of these guys never met him. Some of them weren't even born when he died. But there are a lot of guys in the stands that played for him and it means a lot to them that we keep that thing in Berkeley and not let it travel down to the Farm."

Next up for Cal is a trip to Los Angeles to compete in the MPSF Tournament. The Bears enter as the No. 3 seed and will face No. 2 UCLA at 4:30 p.m. on Friday to begin tournament play. After the conference tournament concludes, action shifts back to Berkeley as the NCAA Tournament will be held from Dec. 3-4 at Spieker Aquatics Complex. For ticket information, visit the Tickets page at CalBears.com.