DAVIS, Calif. – No. 8 California capped a perfect 4-0 weekend at the Aggie Roundup with a 14-10 win over host UC Davis and a gritty 12-9 performance against Santa Clara at the Schaal Aquatic Center on Sunday. The Bears improved to 7-3 and earned their fifth win against a nationally-ranked team (No. 7 UC Davis) this season in the process.
 
MATCH #1: No. 8 California 14, No. 7 UC Davis 10
Adrian Weinberg tallied 11 saves and three Bears combined for 11 goals as Cal avenged last week's loss to UC Davis with a 14-10 win on Sunday morning.
 
The Bears, who suffered a 16-13 overtime loss to the Aggies last weekend, eliminated any chance of a repeat performance by leading at the end of all four quarters of play. Stout defense, highlighted by Weinberg's play in goal, limited UC Davis to just goals over the final two quarters.
 
Safak Simsek and Jasmin Kolasinac finished with four goals apiece while Kolasinac added three assists for a seven-point individual effort. Freshman Nikolaos Papanikolaou had two steals and three goals, two of which came in a critical one-minute span late in the fourth quarter.
 
Cal pushed its lead to four (10-6) by the 4:24-mark of the third quarter with goals by Nikos Delagrammatikas and Simsek before UC Davis staged a short-lived rally with two scores of its own. The Bears entered the fourth period with a 10-8 advantage and put the game away with goals by Papanikolaou (2), Simsek and Kolasinac.
 
Delagrammatikas, Jordan Hoover and Jack Deely finished with one goal apiece and Deely added two assists.
 
MATCH #2: No. 8 California 12, Santa Clara 9
A change at the goalkeeper position sparked a strong second-half performance by the Bears as they completed their four-win weekend at the Aggie Roundup by defeating Santa Clara, 12-9.
 
After Santa Clara took a 6-5 lead with 34 seconds remaining in the first half, Cal head coach Kirk Everist made the switch from Weinberg to senior Bernardo Carelli in goal. Carelli made a quick save before the halftime whistle and then held the Broncos to just three second-half scores while tallying two more saves and one steal.
 
The Bears outscored Santa Clara, 4-1, in a pivotal third quarter that proved to be the difference in the contest. Simsek, Joe Molina, Warren Loth and Deely all scored in the period. Cal took a 9-7 lead into the final frame and closed it out with three more goals from Papanikolaou, Delagrammatikas and Deely.
 
Papanikolaou finished with a team-leading hat trick while Hoover and Deely added two goals apiece. Kolasinac, who was held scoreless, added two assists.

COACH EVERIST'S TAKE
"We have a lot to work on, but the team competed hard and made some great plays in key moments to close these games out," Everist said. "Every game for this team is a chance to learn and grow."
 
NOTABLES

• Cal improved to 6-1 in neutral contests and earned its first true road win of the year (at UC Davis).
• Weinberg's 11-save effort against UC Davis marked the fifth time he has recorded double-digit saves this season.
• Simsek scored five times Sunday but was held to his first match without multiple goals against Santa Clara. The senior netted four goals against UC Davis and scored just once against Santa Clara.
• Kolasinac's seven points (four goals, three assists) vs. UC Davis are the most by a Bear in a single match this season.
• Kolasinac has had at least one goal and one assist in seven of 10 matches played.
• Carelli earned his first playing time since Sept. 8 against UC Irvine.
• Papanikolaou capped a monster weekend with two hat tricks on Sunday. The freshman totaled 12 goals, one assist, four steals and three field blocks in Cal's four matches in Davis.
• Thirteen different Bears scored at least once in the Aggie Roundup.

NEXT TIME
Cal will make its first of two regular-season trips to Los Angeles next weekend for the MPSF/SoCal Invitational, hosted at UCLA and Loyola Marymount. Cal is one of 16 teams participating in the three-day invitational tournament and is slotted as the No. 7 seed. The Bears will clash with No. 10-seeded UC Irvine at 3:20 p.m. on Friday in both team's first match. Cal's next two opponents and game times will depend on Friday's results.
 
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