LOS ANGELES – No. 7 California suffered a 13-12 loss to No. 5 USC despite a fourth-quarter rally in the fifth-place match of the SoCal Invitational at Spieker Aquatics Center on Sunday.
 
Cal (9-5) finished sixth in the invitational tournament, going 3-2 on the weekend. The Bears trailed USC by as many as five goals at the end of the third period before a furious rally, led by senior captain Jordan Hoover, brought them back within striking distance. The hard-fought match between familiar foes featured 38 exclusions and four cards issued.
 
With a 12-7 deficit at the end of the third quarter, Cal made things interesting by scoring five times in the final eight minutes, including a pair from Hoover, who finished the match with four points (three goals, one assist) and four drawn exclusions. Warren Loth scored on an assist from Jake Stone with 20 seconds remaining to make it a one-goal difference, but the Bears ran out of time to complete the comeback.
 
The Trojans controlled the majority of the match, racing out to a 5-1 lead midway through the second quarter. Cal never led. Consecutive goals by Jack Deely, Nikolaos Papanikolaou and Hoover cut USC's lead to 5-4, however the Trojans finished off the first half with three goals of their own to remain in front.
 
Adrian Weinberg played all 32 minutes, logging eight saves against the Trojans' 30 total shots. Five of Cal's six goal scorers had two or more, including Safak Simsek (two goals, one assist) and Sam Untrecht (two goals). USC's efficiency in power-play opportunities proved to be critical; the Trojans converted 10-of-15 opportunities into goals. Cal was 8-for-17 on the power play.

COACH EVERIST'S TAKE
"We struggled all weekend on extra man, both offensively and defensively," head coach Kirk Everist said. "This is where the games are going to be won and lost. We dug a whole and fought back which we like to see."  

NEXT TIME
The Bears will take to the road to play San Jose State at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5 in San Jose, Calif.
 
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