SANTA BARBARA – Freshman Sophie Leggett scored four times and the No. 4 Cal women's water polo team finished the game with four unanswered goals to defeat No. 11 UC Santa Barbara 8-5 on Saturday afternoon at the Gaucho Invite.

Earlier in the day, the Bears fell to No. 5 UC Irvine, 12-7.

UCSB jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter but Cal (2-1) held the Gauchos to just two more goals the rest of the way. Santa Barbara didn't score in the second half.

After the Gauchos, who upended No. 2 UCLA on Friday night, scored its third penalty shot to take a 5-4 lead with 18 seconds left in the first half, the Bears tied it on Leggett's third goal of the game with 20 seconds left in the third. Leggett then put Cal ahead off an assist by Jackie Sanders to make it 6-5 with 6:42 remaining.

Sanders and Hannah DeRose scored later in the fourth quarter to give the Bears some breathing room.

Junior goalie Cassidy Ball, the reigning MPSF Player of the Week, was strong in goal. She turned away a fourth penalty shot attempt by the Gauchos and while making 10 saves. UCSB scored just one even-strength goal.

The Bears and Anteaters peppered each other's goal in the first quarter of the first game of the day, with the Anteaters holding a 4-3 lead. But UC Irvine scored the first three goals of the second quarter to extend the advantage, and Cal never got closer to within three goals the rest of the way.

Junior All-American Brigit Mulder had three goals against the Anteaters while sophomore Carla Traplin had two. Ball made eight saves for the Bears.

The Bears return to Campus Pool at UCSB for two more games Sunday – vs. No. 7 Michigan at 8:30 a.m. and No. 13 UC San Diego at 2 p.m.