WPOLO1/20/2024 7:29 PM | By: Cal Athletics
Cal Defense Locks Up In Season Openers
Williams, Voorvelt Power Cal’s 2-0 Start
FRESNO – A balanced offense and a pair of stellar defensive efforts got the No. 4 California women's water polo team out to a 2-0 start to the 2024 season on Saturday as the Golden Bears downed No. 11 UC Davis 13-4 and No. 5 UC Irvine 8-6 at Fresno State's Polo-Palooza.
Cal scored at least three goals in every quarter of its season-opening win over the Aggies (0-1), ending the game on a 10-1 run and finishing with 11 different goalscorers. Later in the day, the Bears pulled away from the Anteaters (0-2) down the stretch behind a Rozanne Voorvelt hat trick and two second-half goals by Claire Rowell.
All-American goalkeeper Isabel Williams racked up 26Â total saves, going for double figures in both outings. Over the last nine seasons, the 10 goals were the second-fewest the Bears have allowed through two games.
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No. 4 California 13, No. 11 UC Davis 4
Seniors Maddie DeMattia and Reagan Whitney secured Cal's first goals of the year against Davis. Playing in their first games as Bears, freshman Feline Voordouw and UC Irvine transfer Elena Flynn scored in the closing minutes of the first period to give Cal a 4-3 lead heading into the second.
From there, it was all Cal. Maryn Dempsey and Jessie Rose both rocketed in shots from the outside and Rose added another with a slick far-post strike on Cal's final possession before the break, making it 7-3.
The Bears worked the ball around beautifully on back-to-back 6-on-5 goals by Dempsey and Voorvelt early in the third. With time running out in the period, freshman Julia Bonaguidi scored an unforgettable first goal in a Cal uniform, firing in a buzzer-beating skip shot from the defensive end of the pool that slipped just inside the right side of the cage.
Cal closed things out with its second 3-0 quarter of the game in the fourth. Julianne Snyder and Nieve Courtney also notched their first career goals and Abbi Magee scored on a counter attack.
Cal 4 3 3 3 – 13
UCD 3 0 1 0 – 4
Cal Goals: Maryn Dempsey 2, Jessie Rose 2, Nieve Courtney, Julia Bonaguidi, Elena Flynn, Maddie DeMattia, Rozanne Voorvelt, Julianne Snyder, Feline Voordouw, Abbi Magee, Reagan Whitney
UCD Goals: Gianna Nocetti, Alison Giusti, Liberty Massman, Ryan Sund
Cal Saves: Isabel Williams 14
UCD Saves: Nellie McAdams 6, Lucy Holland 1
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No. 4 California 8, No. 5 UC Irvine 6
Playing against their first of two top-5 opponents this weekend, the Bears got out to a strong start against the Anteaters that turned into a wire-to-wire win.
DeMattia and Voordouw both drew first-quarter penalties, leading to 5-meter goals by Voorvelt and Bonaguidi. Dempsey later snuck behind the defense and received a great pass over the top from Voorvelt before maneuvering around Irvine's defense for her third and final goal of the day, giving Cal an early 3-1 lead.
The Anteaters came out firing in the second, answering another Voorvelt goal with two of their own. Williams tallied four of her 12 saves in the period, helping keep Cal ahead 4-3 at halftime.
Rowell gave the Bears a big boost to open the second half, scoring twice in the first two minutes to make it 6-3. UCI cut the lead to one goal again, but Cal responded with another 2-0 run with fourth-quarter goals by Voorvelt and Rose to seal the win.
Cal 3 1 2 2 – 8
UCI 1 2 2 1 – 6
Cal Goals: Rozanne Voorvelt 3, Claire Rowell 2, Maryn Dempsey, Julia Bonaguidi, Jessie Rose
UCI Goals: Libby Alexander 2, Sara Naulty 2, Airian Grisham, Annabelle Mundelius
Cal Saves: Isabel Williams 12
UCI Saves: Faith Tedesco 6
Next Up
The Bears will have an early start on Sunday to close out the FSU Polo-Palooza, facing No. 13 Michigan at 8:00 a.m. before finishing the weekend with a 3:00 p.m. exhibition against No. 5 Hawaii.
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