BERKELEY – The No. 4 Cal women's water polo team held No. 13 UC Davis scoreless for over 11 minutes in the second half and came back for a 13-11 victory on the first day of the Cal Cup at Spieker Aquatics Complex on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, the Bears (2-0) opened the season with a 14-10 victory over No. 17 Fresno State.

Senior Sarah Siepker scored six goals between the two games while sophomore Brigit Mulder scored four against the Aggies, all in the second half when Cal mounted its comeback.

Sophomore Elli Protopapas registered a hat trick in each game while All-American center Kitty Lynn Joustra scored twice in each.

"It took us a while to get into a groove and play Cal water polo as a team," Siepker said. "The determination of this team is unreal. Some shots weren't going our way but nobody gave up. We just kept pushing."

The Bears played both games without All-American and returning leading scorer Emma Wright, who was playing with the Canadian National Team in the UANA Cup in San Paolo, Brazil.

Cal trailed UC Davis 10-7 with 3:18 left in the third quarter before scoring six unanswered goals to go in front. After Mulder netted back-to-back goals, Siepker did the same for the tying and go-ahead scores. The Bears were in front 13-10 before the Aggies finally broke their scoring drought with a goal with just over a minute to play.

"We started playing with more urgency," Cal head coach Coralie Simmons said. "We were able to figure out a way to make things happen. It started with our defense, and that flowed into our counterattack. That was the level we need to play at."

Siepker scored all four of her goals against the Bulldogs in the second half, helping Cal pull away after Fresno St. had cut it to 8-7 with 2:44 remaining in the third quarter. Siepker scored three of the Bears' final six goals and helped set up another when she fed Joustra for a point-blank-shot to open the fourth quarter.

"I think we had a realization that we can't go into all of these games just thinking we are going to stomp on everyone just because we are Cal," Siepker said. "I think that's a great lesson to learn early on. I think after today we are going away with a bad taste in our mouths because we wanted more."

The Bears continue play in the Cal Cup on Sunday with a match against No. 11 Long Beach State and an exhibition game versus No. 3 UCLA.

 
No. 4 Cal 14, No. 17 Fresno St. 10
FSU 3 2 3 2 – 10
Cal 4 2 4 4 – 14
Fresno St. Goals: Callie Woodruff 3, Trystyn Vuori 3, Daphne Guevremont 2, Emily Nicholson, Claire Schade.
Cal Goals: Sarah Siepker 4, Elli Protopapas 3, Hannah DeRose 2, Kitty Lynn Joustra 2, Claire Sonne, Carla Traplin, Georgia Bogle.
Fresno St. Saves: Hannah Richards 9
Cal Saves: Madison Tagg 5, Cassidy Ball 2.
 
No. 4 Cal 13, No. 13 UC Davis 11
UCD 2 4 4 1 – 11
Cal 3 2 5 3 – 13
UCD Goals: Annie Kutt 5, Kathleen Schafle 2, Marcela Portales 2, Allyson Clague 2, Wijnbelt.
Cal Goals: Brigit Mulder 4, Elli Protopapas 3, Sarah Siepker 2, Kitty Lynn Joustra 2, Carson Broad, Carla Traplin.
UCD Saves: Caitlin Golding 5, Sophia Noble 2
Cal Saves: Madison Tagg 8.