10/22/2018 3:48 PM | Men's Water Polo
Senior Helps Lead Bears To 13-12 Victory Over No. 5 UC Santa Barbara
BERKELEY – A six-goal outburst by Johnny Hooper helped the Cal men's water polo team earn a hard-fought victory over No. 5-ranked UC Santa Barbara and one day later netted the senior his second weekly award of the season with Monday's announcement that he has been named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Player of the Week.
No. 4 Cal (15-3) played just one match during the week but it was a highly competitive contest against a Gauchos squad which has not lost to a team outside the top four all season. Hooper got the Bears rolling early, scoring twice in the first period, and he eventually finished with six goals for the third time in just nine games played this year.
Hooper was equally effective in other aspects of Sunday's game as he grabbed five steals, drew three ejections, assisted on one goal and blocked one shot. He ended the game tied with Safak Simsek for the team lead in scoring with 37 goals despite having played in only half of Cal's games due to international duty with Team USA.
By scoring six goals, Hooper also moved a little closer to second place on Cal's all-time scoring list. Hooper finished Sunday's game with 233 career goals and now trails Ivan Rackov, who scored 235 goals as a Golden Bear, and Chris Humbert, who sits first with 296.
Hooper and the Bears return to action on Saturday when they host No. 3 UCLA at noon at Spieker Aquatics Complex. The match will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Bay Area and Pac-12 Los Angeles as well as online at Pac-12.com and on the Pac-12 app.
