Saturday, November 4
Berkeley, CA
11:00 AM
California
vs
USC
Cal will honor its senior class before Saturday's game against USC.
11/2/2017 10:09 AM | Men's Water Polo
BERKELEY - Fresh off a bye week and with only two regular season matches remaining, the No. 2-ranked Cal men's water polo team returns to Spieker Aquatics Complex on Saturday for a showdown with No. 1 USC. Game time is set for 11 a.m. and the match will be broadcast live by Pac-12 Networks with Kevin Danna and Chris Dorst on the call.
The match will also serve as Senior Day with the Golden Bears honoring six upperclassmen - Nicholas Carniglia, Luca Cupido, Kevin Le Vine, Conor Neumann, Connor Reid and Pedro Stellet - before the contest. And, members of the 1987 and 2007 national title teams will also be in attendance and will be honored at halftime of the water polo match as well as during Saturday's football game against Oregon State.
The Bears dive in for their final home match with plenty of momentum in tow after a SoCal road trip in which they scored big road wins over a pair of top-10 teams in UCLA and Long Beach State. Center Odysseas Masmanidis earned MPSF Player of the Week honors for his efforts as the junior from Greece recorded a hat trick in each match. The win over the Bruins also avenged Cal's lone defeat of the 2017 season.
SENIOR DAY
Before Saturday's match, Cal will honor its six upperclassmen for their contributions to the program and the Cal Water Polo community. Nicholas Carniglia, Luca Cupido, Kevin Le Vine, Conor Neumann, Connor Reid and Pedro Stellet will join friends and family on the pool deck before hosting USC in their final home match at Spieker Aquatics Complex.
GOAL ORIENTED
Cal's offense has been in high gear from the very start of the 2017 season as the Bears enter the USC match averaging 14.44 goals per game. Senior Luca Cupido leads the MPSF in both goals (50) and goals per game (2.78). Johnny Hooper ranks third in goals per game with 2.43, Odysseas Masmanidis is fifth with 1.88 and Spencer Farrar also moved into the top 20 at No. 19 (1.22). Cal ranks second as a team in goals per game.
SCOUTING USC
After bringing the curtain down on the home schedule Saturday, Cal turns its attention to Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center with a stretch that starts Thursday, Nov. 10 with the Big Splash. Game time is set for 2:30 p.m. and the match will be broadcast live by Pac-12 Networks. The Bears head back to Stanford the following weekend for the MPSF Championships. Tournament play begins Nov. 17.
The match will also serve as Senior Day with the Golden Bears honoring six upperclassmen - Nicholas Carniglia, Luca Cupido, Kevin Le Vine, Conor Neumann, Connor Reid and Pedro Stellet - before the contest. And, members of the 1987 and 2007 national title teams will also be in attendance and will be honored at halftime of the water polo match as well as during Saturday's football game against Oregon State.
The Bears dive in for their final home match with plenty of momentum in tow after a SoCal road trip in which they scored big road wins over a pair of top-10 teams in UCLA and Long Beach State. Center Odysseas Masmanidis earned MPSF Player of the Week honors for his efforts as the junior from Greece recorded a hat trick in each match. The win over the Bruins also avenged Cal's lone defeat of the 2017 season.
SENIOR DAY
Before Saturday's match, Cal will honor its six upperclassmen for their contributions to the program and the Cal Water Polo community. Nicholas Carniglia, Luca Cupido, Kevin Le Vine, Conor Neumann, Connor Reid and Pedro Stellet will join friends and family on the pool deck before hosting USC in their final home match at Spieker Aquatics Complex.
GOAL ORIENTED
Cal's offense has been in high gear from the very start of the 2017 season as the Bears enter the USC match averaging 14.44 goals per game. Senior Luca Cupido leads the MPSF in both goals (50) and goals per game (2.78). Johnny Hooper ranks third in goals per game with 2.43, Odysseas Masmanidis is fifth with 1.88 and Spencer Farrar also moved into the top 20 at No. 19 (1.22). Cal ranks second as a team in goals per game.
SCOUTING USC
- The Trojans come to Northern California with a 21-1 record and the lone blemish came Sept. 24 with a 13-11 loss to UCLA in the championship match of the Mountain Pacific Invitational.
- With nine seniors on the travel roster, USC features a veteran squad but the Trojans have turned to a freshman as their leading scorer in 2017. Marko Vavic enters the weekend with 39 goals to lead a group of eight players that have 20 goals or more.
- McQuin Baron again looms large in the cage for USC as the senior enters the weekend averaging 10.12 saves per game and a goals against average of 5.21.
- Saturday's meeting is the first for the Bears and Trojans in 2017 but the last meeting between the two produced a result that won't soon be forgotten in Berkeley. That came on Dec. 4, 2016 and an 11-8 overtime victory for Cal netted the program's 14th NCAA title before a raucous home crowd. Lazar Andric made 14 saves and was named tournament MVP while Luca Cupido, Odysseas Masmanidis, Johnny Hooper and Conor Neumann earned spots on the all-tournament team.
After bringing the curtain down on the home schedule Saturday, Cal turns its attention to Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center with a stretch that starts Thursday, Nov. 10 with the Big Splash. Game time is set for 2:30 p.m. and the match will be broadcast live by Pac-12 Networks. The Bears head back to Stanford the following weekend for the MPSF Championships. Tournament play begins Nov. 17.
Players Mentioned
GK
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D/UTL
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A
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Attacker
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A
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GK
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U
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A
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A
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C
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