LA JOLLA, Calif. – Day two at the Triton Invitational looked much the same as the first when it came to the win column for the Cal men's water polo team as the No. 3-ranked Bears claimed a 15-12 victory over No. 9 UC Irvine and then wrapped up the weekend with a 12-9 triumph over No. 10 UC Santa Barbara at UC San Diego.

Cal brings a 4-0 record back to Northern California as it prepares for a pair of matches a little closer to home. The Bears will take a trip up Interstate 80 on Thursday for a 7 p.m. match at UC Davis and action shifts to the Central Valley on Saturday with a 7 p.m. game at Pacific.

Cal 15, UC Irvine 12

An offensive shootout broke out right away but defense eventually proved pivotal as the Bears allowed just one goal to the Anteaters in the fourth period to pull out a hard-fought win at Triton Pool.

Neither team wasted any time when it came to goal scoring with Cal battling to a 6-5 lead after just one period. Three goals from Odysseas Masmanidis and one apiece from Spencer Farrar, Jordan Hoover and Mateus Stellet helped keep the Bears in front.

Stellet, Masmanidis and Nikos Delagrammatikas each added a goal in the second period to help Cal take a 9-7 lead to halftime but UC Irvine rebounded to take a 4-3 advantage in the third period and narrow the Bears' lead to 12-11. Farrar made his biggest mark in the final period, finding the net twice and Safak Simsek added a goal to help extend Cal's lead to three by the final buzzer.

Cal's offense ran through senior Vassilis Tzavaras and the native of Greece proved the perfect distributor for the Bears' offensive onslaught as he finished the match with nine assists. Tzavaras was also strong on defense, grabbing five steals and blocking a shot.

In the cage, Bernardo Carelli played a pivotal role in keeping the Bears in front as Cal's goalkeeper recorded a career-high 21 saves in the victory. 

Cal 12, UC Santa Barbara 9

Another close match through three periods turned in Cal's favor thanks to a strong effort in the fourth as Tzavaras and Simsek each recorded a hat trick and the Bears closed out an undefeated weekend with a win over the Gauchos.

After battling to a 2-2 tie through one period, Cal took the lead into halftime thanks to a four-goal outburst in the second period. Tzavaras and Simsek got the scoring started with a goal apiece in the first and the Bears got one goal apiece from Farrrar, Delagrammatikas, Chase Hamming and Jack Deely in the second to claim a 6-4 lead at half.

UC Santa Barbara battled back in the third period, outscoring the Bears 3-2, but goals by Tzavaras and Masmanidis helped keep the Bears ahead. That lead grew to 10-7 within the first three minutes of the final period thanks to goals from Farrar and Simsek and, after the Gauchos narrowed the gap to 10-8 with 5:11 to play, Tzavaras and Simsek answered with goals of their own to make it 12-9 Bears with 3:38 remaining.

Carelli drew another start in the cage and finished with 11 saves. Tzavaras added six more assists and another steal to cap an impressive all-around weekend that included nine goals, 18 assists, nine steals, two blocks and three ejections earned.