BERKELEY – After forcing a turnover with 15 seconds left, the No. 2 California men's water polo team had one final chance to equalize in Sunday's MPSF Championship game against No. 3 USC. But the Golden Bears fell 13-12 after their final attempt went off the crossbar at the buzzer.

Cal (21-5) had beaten the Trojans (15-6) six straight times entering Sunday's final, but USC snapped that streak with two unanswered goals in the final minutes of the game.

Max Casabella led the Bears with five goals, scoring at least once in every quarter. His fifth of the day tied the game 11-11 with 3:06 left in the fourth. On Cal's next possession, Albert Ponferrada snuck a shot inside the near right post, capping a 4-1 Bears run to put them ahead by one.

After USC regained the lead, Nikolaos Papanikolaou picked up his third steal of the day with 35 seconds left. Coming out of a timeout, the Bears tried to get the ball to Casabella, but he wasn't able to get a hold of the pass. Seconds later, the Trojans let the ball slip out of bounds, giving Cal one last chance. But Ponferrada's final shot at the buzzer went just high.

Ponferrada was one of four Bears to score multiple goals. Papanikolaou put two away in the first period, giving him 247 in his career to move him past Johnny Hooper for No. 2 all-time at Cal. Papanikolaou also drew seven exclusions.

Neither team led by more than one in a tightly contested first 16 minutes. Nik Mirkovic highlighted the opening half with one of the most remarkable goals of the season, beating the shot clock with a backhand shot from near the middle of the pool to give Cal a 5-4 lead with 2:45 left in the second period.

Jake Howerton scored twice in a back-and-forth second half that had five ties and four lead changes. Goalkeeper Adrian Weinberg finished with 10 saves and three steals.

On Sunday night, the Bears received an at-large bid for the 2023 NCAA Tournament, which is set for Dec. 1-3 at USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center. Cal will face No. 15 Fordham in the quarterfinal round on Dec. 1 at 4 p.m. PT.

 

No. 3 USC 13, No. 2 California 12
Cal 3 2 3 4 – 12
USC 3 3 2 5 – 13
Cal Goals: Max Casabella 5, Nikolaos Papanikolaou 2, Albert Ponferrada 2, Jake Howerton 2, Nik Mirkovic
USC Goals: Max Miller 7, Massimo Di Martire 4, Carson Kranz, Andrej Grgurevic
Cal Saves: Adrian Weinberg 10
USC Saves: Bernardo Herzer 10

 

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