LOS ANGELES, Calif. – For the second time in seven days, the Cal men's water polo found a way to turn away its rival as the Bears rode a strong second period to a 15-9 victory over Stanford in the third-place match of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championships.

With the victory, Cal's record stands at 20-4 as the Bears await the announcement of the NCAA Tournament field on Sunday evening. Cal will be in the hunt for an at-large bid to the tournament, which will be held on Dec. 3 and 4 at Spieker Aquatics Complex. Play-in games will be held earlier that week, with dates, times and sites also set to be announced later on Sunday.

Before Cal could even think about what comes next, the Bears needed to take care of business against the rival Cardinal. And, after one period, not much had been decided as a goal from mid-tank by Cody Smith narrowed Cal's lead to 3-2 after eight minutes.

The Bears earned some separation on the scoreboard in the second period. A backhand shot from Odysseas Masmanidis connected and a goal from close range by Thomas Carroll made it 5-2. A give and go between Luca Cupido and Safak Simsek resulted in Cupido converting the easy shot. A transition opportunity led to another goal for Carroll and Cal took a 7-3 lead into halftime.

The offense kept rolling in the third period to help Cal build an even bigger lead. Conor Neumann fired a left-handed strike past the Stanford keeper and Cupido snuck one just far enough to count for a goal to put the Bears up 9-3. Cupido scored again from two meters to put Cal ahead by seven and, although Stanford scored the next three goals in quick succession, Nicholas Carniglia scored on a late counter-attack and the Bears took an 11-6 lead into the final eight minutes.

A power play goal for Chandler Jarrels, a long range strike from Simsek and a pair of goals for Johnny Hooper wrapped up the scoring for Cal in the fourth. Hooper led the scoring charge for the Bears with four goals while Cupido finished with three. Lazar Andric played the majority of the match in the cage and made eight saves before Bernardo Carelli finished it off and registered one save.