BERKELEY – Cal women's water polo coach Coralie Simmons wanted to know when senior Kristina Garcia was in the pool on Saturday.

Garcia made sure everyone did.

Garcia scored four goals in two games – each of which proving to be pivotal – and the No. 6 Bears notched a pair of key victories on the first day of the Cal Cup at Spieker Aquatics Complex.

Garcia registered Cal's first goal and then another clutch score later to lift the Bears to a 12-11 victory over No. 3 UC Irvine. She then scored back-to-back goals to break a second-half tie to help Cal pull away for a 12-8 win over No. 12 UC Davis.

"I told her yesterday I wanted to know when she's in, and she did a good job of that," Simmons said. "She really came out and solidified herself in the starting unit. Things are falling into place for her."

Garcia entered the season having played just sparingly during her first three seasons at Cal, having registered one career goal last year against Indiana. With top players Emma Wright, Kitty Lynn Joustra and Elli Protopapas all sitting out this season to train with their respective national teams in preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics, there is an opportunity for some unusual suspects to earn more playing time.

With a couple of other players also out Saturday, Garcia became an integral ingredient in the team's success.

"There are definitely roles that needed to be filled," Garcia said. "I saw an opportunity and I went for it. I want to play so badly and I'm willing to do whatever it takes. I'm dying to make that happen."

She certainly did Saturday. Her first goal against the Anteaters answered an early score by UCI. She then added a score late in the third quarter that gave the Bears an 11-9 cushion – one they would need.

The Aggies jumped on the Bears early, scoring the game's first two goals and leading 4-2 late in the first quarter. But after a goal by junior Claire Sonne tied the game at 5-5 at halftime, Garcia scored the first two goals of the second half as Cal went on a 6-0 run to take command.

"I definitely had moments when I second-guessed myself," Garcia said. "I just had to believe in myself."

The win over the Anteaters avenged last weekend's 12-7 loss at the Gaucho Invite. The game featured 21 total goals during the first three periods and just two in the fourth quarter. After junior All-American Brigit Mulder scored her fourth goal of the game to push Cal's advantage to 12-10 early in the final period, UC Irvine All-American Tara Prentice scored her fifth goal to cut the deficit back to one with 7:11 to play. Neither team scored again.

UC Irvine appeared to have a strong chance to tie the game at the 4:35 mark of the fourth quarter but Cal goalie Cassidy Ball blocked a breakaway shot from close range by the Anteaters' Toni Shackelford to preserve the lead.

"She had a hard go in the first half with some balls going by her," Simmons said. "We were a man down a lot and you start feeling like you aren't able to maintain control on the defensive end. One way to do that is get a big block like that. She loves those big moments. That was a big moment to give us the confidence to finish the game."

Senior Hannah DeRose added two goals against the Anteaters while Sonne had three against the Aggies.

Cal finishes play in the Cal Cup on Sunday against No. 18 San Jose State. The Bears will also play an exhibition game against No. 2 Stanford.