BERKELEY – Junior All-American Emma Wright scored four goals and the No. 4 Cal women's water polo team withstood a late flurry by No. 5 Hawai'I to notch a 10-9 nonconference victory on Sunday at Spieker Aquatics Complex.

Wright scored all four of her goals during a 7-0 run by the Bears that gave them a 9-3 lead with 2:50 left in the third quarter. Wright picked up her third exclusion and was forced out of the game a few minutes later, and the Rainbow Wahine stormed back behind junior center Elyse Lemay-Lavoie.

Lemay-Lavoie scored the final five goals of the game for Hawai'I, her final one coming with 13 seconds left. But the Bears were able to close things out for the win.

Lemay-Lavoie finished with six goals. Senior Sarah Siepker added two scores for the Bears.

Cal All-American goalie Madison Tagg made nine saves, including two stops on Hawai'I penalty shots.

"Tagg had a really good game," Cal head coach Coralie Simmons said. "She's been consistently showing up. She's looking to make that next mark in her career here at Cal. She likes to step up big and isn't afraid of the big moments. It's important to have that swagger in the cage."

The teams alternated goals early on, with the Rainbow Wahine taking a 3-2 lead with midway through the second quarter. After Tagg stopped her first penalty shot, the Bears began their scoring run that gave them a cushion. Cal held Hawai'I scoreless for 11 minutes during the stretch.

"I thought 90 percent of the time we played really good defense and operated well as a unit together," Simmons said. "The other 10 percent of the time we allowed (Lemay-Lavoie) to handle us well. I always want to coach teams that want to play defense first."

The Bears remain home next week and host No. 6 Michigan on Sunday at Noon.
 
 
No. 4 Cal 10, No. 5 Hawai'I 9
Haw 2 1 2 4 – 9
Cal 1 4 4 1 – 10
Hawai'i Goals: Elyse Lemay-Lavoie 6, Emma von Rossum, Carmen Baringo, Maxine Schaap.
Cal Goals: Emma Wright 4, Sarah Siepker 2, Brigit Mulder, Elli Protopapas, Kitty Lynn Joustra, Lauren Charter.
Hawai'I Saves: Molly DiLalla 8
Cal Saves: Madison Tagg 9