OVERNGHT MPSF INVITATIONAL
AT SPIEKER AQUATICS COMPLEX  | BERKELEY

FRIDAY, SEPT. 20
NO. 6 CAL VS NO. 15 UC SAN DIEGO  | 12:30 P.M. PT

SATURDAY, SEPT. 21
NO. 6 CAL VS NO. 7 PRINCETON  | 10 A.M. PT
NO. 6 CAL VS NO. 1 UCLA  | 3 P.M. PT

SUNDAY, SEPT. 15
TBD

TOURNAMENT PAGE | LIVE STREAMS | LIVE STATS

The No. 6 California men's water polo team welcomes seven top-15 programs to Berkeley this weekend as it opens its 2024 home schedule hosting the Overnght MPSF Invitational. The field includes top-ranked MPSF schools No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Stanford and No. 3 USC, all of which the Golden Bears defeated during last year's postseason en route to securing a third straight NCAA Championship. Cal is out to a 5-1 start to the season with two wins over top-10 foes, led by seniors Roberto Valera (19 goals) and Max Casabella (18).

BEAR NECESSITIES

AGGIE ROUNDUP RECAP
The Bears won both of their games at the Aggie Roundup hosted by UC Davis, downing the host Aggies 16-7 and No. 12 San Jose State 10-8 on Saturday. Freshman Maddox Arlett set the tone with a first-quarter hat trick against UCD, leading all players with five goals. Valera added a hat trick and senior Jake Howerton scored twice. Arlett went on to be named to the Aggie Roundup All-Tournament Team.

Cal came back late in a back-and-forth battle with the Spartans later in the day, scoring the final three goals down the stretch. Casabella scored two clutch goals, tying it 8-8 with 3:08 to go off an assist by Bende Pardi and putting the Bears ahead for good shortly after. Pardi put Cal up by two goals with just over a minute remaining, notching his first hat trick as a Bear.

SIZZLING SPANIARDS
Three-time ACWPC All-Americans Valera and Casabella have taken their goal scoring prowess to new heights through two weekends of competition, highlighted by a combined 15-goal outburst in the Bears' lone loss thus far to No. 4 Pepperdine. Valera scored in every quarter and the first two periods of overtime, finishing with eight goals. That tied for the third-most goals in a game in MPSF history and was the most scored by a Cal player since the conference's first year in 1992.

Casabella scored seven times against the Waves, setting a new career high. Valera already has four three-goal performances in six games this season, while Casabella has three. 

NEW ROLES, NEW FACES
With new responsibilities and opportunities up for grabs among Cal's talented group of returners and newcomers, multiple Bears made their presence known over their first six outings. Arlett comes into this weekend third on the team with nine goals, while Pardi has scored eight times with three multi-goal efforts.

Howerton is fifth with seven goals and centers George Avakian and Jordi Gascon have put away six and five goals, respectively, with Avakian racking up a season-best seven earned exclusions in Cal's 20-14 win over No. 8 UC Irvine on Sept. 7.

Redshirt freshman Riley Clansen has been Cal's primary goalkeeper, setting a season high with 10 saves in the Bears' tightly-contested 10-8 victory over San Jose State.

THE STAFF
Kirk Everist was named ACWPC National Coach of the Year for the fifth time last season after winning his sixth NCAA Championship as the Bears' head coach and eighth overall with the program. The USA Water Polo Hall of Famer enters his 23rd season at the helm of the program with an all-time coaching record of 465-135 (.775).

Joining Everist on the staff are third-year assistant coach Jakov Belamaric and former Golden Bear player Iosefa Tuiasau. Tuiasau – who played for Everist from 2009-11 – rejoins the Bears following two successful seasons as an assistant coach at Pacific and a highly successful coaching run in his native New Zealand at the high school, club and international levels. That included serving as an assistant coach for the New Zealand Women's National Team and a stint at Rangitoto College that resulted in numerous trophies.

REPEAT SUCCESS
No men's water polo program has won more national championships than Cal, which claimed its 17th on Dec. 3, 2023, after defeating UCLA 13-11 in the NCAA final. The historic win saw Casabella fire in five goals and Valera score four times, helping give the Bears the distinction of owning three of the four three-peats in NCAA men's water polo history.

STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal men's water polo, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWaterPolo) and Instagram (@calmwaterpolo).