LA JOLLA, Calif. – The Cal men's water polo team bounced back from its first loss of the year with an 11-6 nonconference win over No. 13 (CWPA) UC Irvine and earned a two-match split at the Triton Invitational on Sunday.
 
No. 4 Cal (3-1) dropped an 8-5 contest to No. 7 UC Santa Barbara earlier in the day. The Gauchos (4-0) went on to defeat Long Beach State to clinch the Triton Invitational title. Cal finished its season-opening weekend with a 3-1 overall record and earned a pair of wins against nationally-ranked (CWPA) opponents.
 
MATCH #1: No. 7 UC Santa Barbara 8, No. 4 Cal 5
Seventh-ranked UC Santa Barbara netted four third-quarter goals and upended Cal in a defensive battle. Safak Simsek scored twice to post his third multi-goal performance in as many contests, but the Bears struggled in power-play opportunities (2-for-13) throughout.
 
Cal opened the match with a 3-1 lead by the four-minute mark after Simsek scored twice and Jordan Hoover added his lone goal of the game. UCSB knotted it up by the end of the first quarter and took a 4-3 lead with less than two minutes prior to halftime. Jack Deely found the back of the net at the 13-second mark of the second quarter to lock the score once again.
 
Adrian Weinberg suffered his first loss in goal after making four saves against 12 shots over three quarters. He was replaced by Anthony Rethans, who helped Cal hold the Gauchos scoreless in the fourth frame. Joe Molina added Cal's fifth goal and the end of the third quarter and posted one assist earlier in the match. Jasmin Kolasinac tallied two assists despite being held scoreless for the first time this season.
 
MATCH #2: No. 4 Cal 11, No. 13 UC Irvine 6
The Bears responded resiliently to their first loss of the season, establishing a six-goal lead by halftime and an eight-goal advantage by the 4:35-minute mark of the third quarter. Weinberg put together one of the strongest performances of his young career, recording 14 saves against 19 shots before leaving the game after the third period.
 
Senior leadership led the way offensively as Simsek scored four goals and added two assists while Jordan Hoover netted a hat trick. Hoover scored two of Cal's four goals in the second frame to help the Bears jump out to a 7-1 advantage. UCI scored five second-half goals, including a trio in the final period before Cal put away the contest.
 
COACH EVERIST'S TAKE
"It was a weekend of learning for us," said head coach Kirk Everist. "We made too many mistakes against UCSB and they outplayed us. The result proved that we have a lot of work to do.
 
"The team responded well with a strong start against UCI, building a 9-1 lead midway through the third quarter, but we stumbled down the stretch. We have a lot of work next week in preparation for hosting UC Davis and Pacific."
 
NOTABLES

• Senior Safak Simsek excelled offensively throughout the weekend with 18 points (12 goals, six assists).
• Adrian Weinberg totaled 32 saves in 10 quarters of play at the Triton Invitational.
• Freshman Sam Untrecht led Cal with seven assists on the weekend.

NEXT TIME
The Bears host Italian club team Pro Recco in an exhibition match on Wednesday, Sept. 11 before welcoming UC Davis (10:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 14) and Pacific (1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15) to Berkeley over the weekend. All three matches will be played at Spieker Aquatics Center.
 
STAY POSTED
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