No. 5 Bears Win Two At Stanford Invitational

STANFORD – Leading scorer Carla Carrega added eight more goals in two games and freshman Madison Tagg scored a rare goal by a goalie as the No. 5 Cal women's water polo team notched a pair of victories over ranked opponents on Saturday during the first day of the Stanford Invitational.

Carrega had a team-best five goals during the Bears' 7-2 win over No. 10 UC Irvine. Cal, which entered the weekend tied for second in the MPSF in defense (5.5 goals allowed per game), held the Anteaters scoreless in the first and fourth periods.

Carrega added three more goals in the Bears' 19-8 win over No. 12 Pacific and now has 26 for the season. She entered the weekend ranked third in the MPSF in scoring at 2.25 goals per game.

Tagg scored what head coach Richard Corso believes is the first goal scored by a goalie during his 11 years with the Bears, while junior Stephanie Mutafyan also had three goals.

After leading 5-4 at the end of the first period, the Bears outscored the Tigers 10-1 over the next two periods to take command. Seniors Sierra Smiley and Pippa Saunders, sophomore Kindred Paul and freshman Sarah Siepker each added two goals against UOP.

Tagg and junior Madeline Trabucco split time in the cage during both games. Trabucco made a total of seven saves on the day while Tagg added six.

Cal (9-1) returns to action in the Stanford Invitational on Sunday with a game against No. 8 UC Davis at 9:10 a.m.

No. 5 Cal 19, No. 12 Pacific 8

UOP 4 0 1 3 – 8

Cal 5 4 6 4 – 19

UOP Goals: Megan Torre 2, Victoria Szmodics 2, Brinnley Barthels, Aelish Guinn, Karolina Hlavata, Rachel Krieger.

Cal Goals: Carla Carrega 3, Stephanie Mutafyan 3, Sarah Siepker 2, Sierra Smiley 2, Pippa Saunders 2, Kindred Paul 2, Molly Quinn, Grace Morgan, Rachael Lewin, Brooke Vowell, Madison Tagg.