No. 2 Cal Tops No. 3 USC In Thrilling Contest

Sunday, October 5

Berkeley, CA

1:00 PM PT

California

13-2

USC

12-2

Team	1	2	3	4	OT	OT	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	Final F
USC (M)	1	3	4	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11
California (M)	2	2	5	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13

Bears clinch first MPSF win

Photo by: Al Sermeno/KLC fotos

10/5/2025 4:45 PM | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

Bears Clinch First MPSF Win

By: Cal Athletics

BERKELEY – The No. 2 California men's water polo team (12-2) picked up its first MPSF win of the season after defeating No. 3 USC (13-2), 13-11, on Sunday at Spieker Aquatics Complex.

The Golden Bears handed the Trojans their second loss of the season in a back-and-forth contest after a stellar defensive performance in the cage by goalkeeper Aran Pina. Pina collected a career-high 15 saves, securing a 57.7 save percentage, while adding two steals to his stat line. He has now finished with at least 10 saves in seven games on the season.

On the offensive end, Seth Bousfield collected his second hat trick of the season, scoring on all three of his shot attempts.

How it happened:

No. 2 Cal – 13 | No. 3 USC – 11

Seth Bousfield scored the first goal of the game in the first 35 seconds.
16 exclusions occurred in the first period.
The score was tied, 4-4, at halftime.
Cal scored five times in the third period.
The Bears took their largest lead, 13-10, with 11 seconds remaining in the fourth.
Seth Bousfield posted his second hat trick of the season.
Eight Bears scored a goal in today's contest.
Maddox Arlett and Patrik Kolak both scored two goals.
Albert Ponferrada tallied a game-high four assists and team-high three steals.
Beso Akhvlediani totaled a game-high three field blocks.
The Bears recorded five field blocks in the contest.
Aran Pina recorded a career-high 15 saves.
Dominic Brown finished with a game-high five earned exclusions.
Cal never trailed in the contest.

NEXT UP
Cal will return to the pool on Oct. 17 against Stanford at Avery Aquatic Center in Stanford, Calif. Coverage will begin at 3 p.m.

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