BERKELEY – Senior goalie Madeline Trabucco made six saves – including a handful of clutch stops in the fourth quarter – and the No. 4 Cal women's water polo team defeated No. 19 UC Davis 11-9 in the final game of the California Speedo Cup on Saturday at Legends Aquatic Center.

The Bears (5-0) defeated No. 14 Long Beach State 12-6 in their first game of the day.

Trabucco stonewalled the spirited Aggies down the stretch in the final game, including neutralizing things on a rare 6-on-3 opportunity when Cal incurred three exclusions on one possession midway through the fourth quarter. Trabucco split time with sophomore Madison Tagg in both games and made 10 saves overall.

"Obviously those stops she made in the second half were instrumental in us getting momentum," Cal coach Coralie Simmons said. "She helped us keep our composure on the 3-on-6. She had to come up big. She really facilitated us getting that second win."

After coasting to relatively easy win over the 49ers – Cal led 12-4 with under six minutes to play – the win over UC Davis was hard-fought. The Aggies led 2-1 after the end of the first quarter and the game was tied 4-4 at the half.

The third quarter is when the Bears made their move. After junior Dora Antal scored the first of her three goals, senior Emily Loughlin netted back-to-back scores before Antal found the cage again for an 8-4 Cal advantage with 2:53 to go in the third quarter. But the Aggies scored three unanswered goals to close the period and the Bears' lead was just one heading into the final period.

Both teams tightened up defensively in the fourth quarter, with them exchanging goals until the final buzzer sounded.

"The last few moments there were getting a little hectic, but I think it really came down to falling back on what we do in practice," Trabucco said. "It was one of those things where we stayed calm and at the same time our communication was really good."

Antal scored three goals in each game and Loughlin and junior Anna Illes had two in each contest. Kacey Avalos' goal with 5:31 left pushed the Bears' lead back to two for the final margin against the Aggies.

"We've gone a few stretches now wanting to get looks at a lot of rotations," Simmons said. "I think that we are a group that needs to be tested. Why not early in the season? It's good to know we can keep our composure."

Saturday's Speedo Cup wrapped up a busy weekend for the Bears in which they played three games in less than 24 hours after going nearly going two weeks after their initial two matches of the season. Cal will return to action next weekend at the Stanford Invitational.

"We have been practicing so much, we were really geared up to play," Trabucco said. "It was a really great weekend. We got a lot of people in and everyone got a lot of playing time. The whole weekend was a great experience."

No. 4 Cal 12, No. 14 Long Beach State 6
LBSU 2 1 0 3 – 6
Cal 7 1 3 1 – 12
LBSU Goals: Virginia Smith 3, Christina Kotsia, Tori Morrissey, Cara Vejsicky.
Cal Goals: Dora Antal 3, Emily Loughlin 2, Anna Illes 2, Emma Wright 2, Sarah Siepker, Stephanie Mutafyan, Carla Carrega.
LBSU Saves: Eirini Patras 4.
Cal Saves: Madeline Trabucco 4, Madison Tagg 3.
 
No. 4 Cal 11, No. 19 UC Davis 9
UCD 2 2 3 2 – 9
Cal 1 3 4 3 – 11
UC Davis Goals: Greta Kohlmoos 2, Chloe Robinson 2, Paige Virgil 2, McKenna Hauss, Cassidy Smithson, Sammy Preston.
Cal Goals: Dora Antal 3, Anna Illes 2, Emily Loughlin 2, Genevieve Weed, Kindred Paul, Carla Carrega, Kacey Avalos.    
UC Davis Saves: Caitlin Golding 9.
Cal Saves: Madison Tagg 3, Madeline Trabucco 6.