No. 6 Bears Take Down No. 3 UCLA

No. 6 Bears Take Down No. 3 UCLA

Cal Wins Third Place Game At MPSF Championships

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LOS ANGELES – Senior All-American Emma Wright had her second consecutive dominant performance and freshman Rozanne Voorvelt came up with a field block on the game's final possession to help the No. 6 Cal women's water polo team oust No. 3 UCLA 10-9 on Sunday in the Third Place Game of the MPSF Championships at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.

Wright had five goals and two assists to move into fourth place on Cal's all-time scoring list with 202 career goals. She also became the 47th MPSF player ever to reach 200 goals for a career.

In two games during the tournament, Wright tallied nine goals and four assists.

Sophomore Ruby Swadling also finished off a terrific tournament with four goals and an assist after notching two goals and an assist during Saturday's loss to No. 1 USC in the semifinals. Goalie Isabel Williams turned back the Bruins with 14 saves.

The Bears (16-5) got off to a strong start, opening up a 4-0 lead before UCLA finally scored on the power play with just over one minute remaining in the first quarter. Williams made five saves in the period to help Cal build the advantage.

The Bears still led 6-2 midway through the second quarter before the Bruins converted two penalty shots to make it 6-4 at halftime. After Cal went up 8-5 with 2:39 left in the third period, UCLA trimmed it to 8-7 heading into the fourth.

The teams traded goals in the fourth quarter, and after the Bruins cut it to 10-9 with 2:51 left, the Bears turned back UCLA's final four shots of the game, culminating in Voorvelt's field block with three seconds to go.

Cal only allowed two even strength goals, as the Bruins scored on three penalty shots and four power plays.

Williams, who earlier this week was named to the All-MPSF First Team, now has 223 saves this season – the second-best single-season mark ever at Cal. She also moved into ninth place on the program's career saves list with 271.

The Bears will now wait to see if they have earned an at-large berth to next month's NCAA Championship. The NCAA selection show is Monday at 5 p.m. PT on NCAA.com.
 
 
 
 
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