LOS ANGELES – A thrilling 9-8 victory over No. 6 Pepperdine highlighted No. 7 California's two-match split on the second day of the SoCal Invitational at UCLA's Spieker Aquatics Center on Saturday. The Bears (9-4) closed the day by defeating Pepperdine, but suffered a 12-9 loss to No. 2 UCLA, the tournament's co-host, in the morning.
 
MATCH #1: No. 2 UCLA 12, No. 7 Cal 9
Nikolaos Papanikolaou scored four times and tallied an assist but Cal could not overcome UCLA's steady attack in a 12-9 loss to the Bruins on Saturday morning.
 
The Bears held tight throughout all 32 minutes of play, but never led against UCLA in its home pool. The loss snapped a five-match win streak and sent Cal to the tournament's consolation bracket. UCLA improved to 8-0.
 
After digging itself an early hole midway through the first period, Cal rallied with goals by Jack Deely, Papanikolaou and David Feingold, the latter of which tied the contest at 3-3 by the 5:18 mark of the second quarter. The Bruins staved off the run though, scoring three consecutive goals to take a 6-3 advantage and an eventual 7-4 lead at the halftime whistle.
 
Cal's final push of the match was a three-goal run over a three-minute span in the third and fourth quarters. Marko Valecic fueled the run with his first goal of the season and an assist on Safak Simsek's power-play goal to pull Cal within two (9-7) at the end of the third. Papanikolaou then notched his third score less than a minute into the fourth frame to make it a one-goal contest.
 
UCLA halted the Cal run just 30 seconds later, however, with the first of three straight goals that put the contest out of reach.
 
Papanikolaou added a pair of drawn exclusions and one steal in the well-rounded individual effort. UCLA efficiently scored on 12 of its 22 shots (Cal was 9-of-27). Both teams were effective in power-play opportunities; Cal scored five goals and UCLA netted six in man-up scenarios. Jake Cavano scored four goals and had two assists for the Bruins.
 
MATCH #2: No. 7 Cal 9, No. 6 Pepperdine 8
Cal netted seven first-half goals and held off Pepperdine in the fourth quarter to seal a one-goal victory on Saturday afternoon. Senior Bernardo Carelli earned his first start of the season and posted six of his nine saves in the second half while Jasmin Kolasinac tallied four points on three assists and one goal. Jordan Hoover and Deely had two goals apiece.
 
The Bears' offense came through in pivotal moments throughout the first half, scoring two goals in the final minute of both the first and second periods. Nikos Delagrammatikas put Cal ahead 3-2 with 56 seconds remaining in the first quarter before Deely extended the lead 20 seconds later. With the score tied 5-5 in the second, Deely connected once again at the 1:15 mark to give Cal the lead. The Bears took a 7-5 lead into halftime after Kolasinac nailed a shot with five seconds on the clock.
 
Cal hung onto its lead throughout the second half despite being held scoreless in the fourth quarter. Warren Loth and Simsek each scored once in the third quarter while Carelli took control of the defensive efforts, making six saves over the final 16 minutes.
 
NEXT TIME
The Bears will conclude their four-match slate at the SoCal Invitational by playing No. 5 USC at 10 a.m. on Sunday at the Spieker Aquatics Center.
 
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