BERKELEY – Jack Deely and Safak Simsek scored four goals apiece as No. 7 California held off No. 15 UC Irvine for a 10-7 nonconference victory at Spieker Aquatics Complex on Sunday afternoon.
 
The home win was Cal's first this season following three losses in its own pool earlier this fall. Deely added three assists for a career-best seven-point performance while Simsek's second goal of the contest was the 150th of his career. Cal moved to 12-9 overall while the visiting Anteaters (6-13) saw their losing streak extend to 10 matches.
 
The Bears came out of the gate hot, taking a 3-0 lead into the final minute of the first quarter with goals from Deely (two) and Nikos Delagrammatikas. UC Irvine responded, however, scoring three straight goals of its own to knot the match at 3-3 by the 5:57 mark of the second period. A strong finish to the first half was led by Simsek, who netted the first two of his four goals over the last five minutes to help Cal take a 5-4 advantage into the intermission.
 
Both teams traded blows throughout the third quarter with three goals apiece, two of which came by Deely in a 30-second span. Deely's spurt increased Cal's lead to 8-5, but UC Irvine batted back with the final two strikes of the period to make it a one-goal contest heading into the fourth frame.
 
Cal put the match away over the last eight minutes of play, holding the Anteaters scoreless. Jordan Hoover scored on a power-play opportunity just 17 seconds into the period and Simsek added an insurance goal with 3:27 remaining to seal the victory.
 
Adrian Weinberg (six saves, two steals) and Bernardo Carelli (five saves, one steal) split the match in goal with the former picking up the victory in his 19th start of the season.
 
NOTABLES

• Joe Molina tallied three drawn exclusions, two assists and one steal.
• Hoover added a team-leading four drawn exclusions to his one goal.
• Cal improved to 1-3 at Spieker Aquatics Complex this fall.

NEXT TIME
Cal concludes regular season play by hosting MPSF rival USC at 1 p.m. (PT) on Saturday, Nov. 16 at Spieker Aquatics Complex. Prior to the match, Cal will recognize Bernardo Carelli, Safak Simsek, Jordan Hoover and Cade Kruse during a Senior Day ceremony.
 
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