STANFORD – A day after being named to the All-MPSF First Team for the first time in her career, Cal junior Emma Wright demonstrated why she is one of the nation's top players in the first round of the MPSF Championships.

Wright tied a career-high with seven goals on seven shots and added two steals as the No. 4 Cal women's water polo team ousted No. 20 San Jose State 18-9 at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center.

Wright's outburst matched her seven-goal performance in a game at Cal State Bakersfield in 2017. It's tied for the second-most goals in a game in Cal history and it's the second-most goals scored in a game by an MPSF player this season.

Colette Glinkowski holds the Cal record with eight goals in a game, set back in 1997.

"She doesn't need much space to finish," Cal head coach Coralie Simmons said. "There are a number of ways she can convert. She's hard to mark because of all of her abilities."

The Bears (16-6) advanced to the MPSF semifinals, where they will face No. 1 Stanford on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Wright had a hat trick by the end of the first quarter and five goals at the half. She played sparingly in the second half as Cal built a commanding lead.

"We just wanted to come out really strong today, come out shooting in preparation for a tough game tomorrow," Wright said. "That was just in the back of my mind the whole time, so when I was open, I was looking to shoot."

Wright, who earned All-MPSF Honorable Mention and ACWPC All-American Honorable Mention in each of her first two seasons in Berkeley, finished the regular season ranked second in the MPSF at 2.83 goals per game. She now has a career-high 58 goals on the season and needs just six more to break in to Cal's all-time single-season top-10.

Wright also now has 145 career goals, two short of breaking into the program's all-time top-10 for career scoring.

It actually took about a half a quarter for the Bears to get going. The score was tied 1-1 midway through the first quarter before Cal scored four straight goals in the final 3:28 of the period, including two by Wright that gave her a hat trick by the end of the quarter.

The teams traded goals for much of the second period and the Bears led 10-6 at halftime, but Cal began the third period with five unanswered scores to take control, including the final two by Wright.

Sophomore center Kitty Lynn Joustra added three goals for the Bears. Ten different players ended up scoring for Cal, which registered a season-high in goals.

"In a tournament like this, it's about getting the jitters out in the first game," Wright said. "I think that's why we had a slower start. That's why it was so important to get that out of the way in this game to prepare for tomorrow."

Senior goalie Madison Tagg played just the first period and held San Jose State to one goal. Sophomore Cassidy Ball was in the cage for the remainder of the game and recorded seven saves.

The Bears are 0-2 against Stanford this season, but dominated the second half in the teams' last meeting before losing 13-12 at home on April 13. The Cardinal held a 10-3 lead late in the second quarter before Cal marched back to within one.

"For us against Stanford, it's about controlling our emotions," Simmons said. "We really have to focus, especially on the defensive end. Offensively, we've really been putting it together with some balanced attacks."

 
No. 4 Cal 18, No. 20 San Jose State 9
SJSU 1 5 1 2 – 9
Cal 4 6 5 3 – 18
SJSU Goals: Olga Descalzi Portell 4, Tyanna Supreme 2, Jacqui Maisey, Sierra Painter, Caroline Kerwin.
Cal Goals: Emma Wright 7, Kitty Lynn Joustra 3, Brigit Mulder, Claire Sonne, Elli Protopapas, Rachael Lewin, Georgia Gilmore, Carla Traplin, Hannah DeRose, Cynthia Mulder.
SJSU Saves: Anna Maria Luther 7.
Cal Saves: Madison Tagg 2, Cassidy Ball 7.