BERKELEY – The No. 3 California men's water polo team (6-0) remains undefeated after pulling out a hard-fought win against No. 11 UC Davis (3-2), 16-3, in its home opener at Speiker Aquatics Complex.
Beso Akhvlediani led the Golden Bears with a team-high four goals on six shot attempts.
Kai Inoue and
Chase Wilson both added three goals apiece for Cal.
Aran Pina tallied 12 saves along with one steal, defending the net.
The Golden Bears fended off a late surge by the Aggies, who went on a 6-1 run to start the fourth quarter, cutting their deficit to 13-12 with 2:18 remaining in the game. 17 seconds later,
Chase Wilson found the back of the net to weather the storm.
Patrik Kolak and Akhvlediani added goals down the stretch to seal the victory.
How it happened:
- Beso Akhvlediani recorded the first goal of the contest late in the first after a slow start.
- The Bears held the Aggies to one score in the first and third quarters.
- Cal took an early 2-1 advantage into the second after Chase Wilson added a goal late in the first.
- The Bears outscored tbe Aggies 6-4 in the second quarter with six different goal scores.
- Kai Inoue scored two of the team's four goals in the third quarter.
- The Aggies used a 6-1 run in the fourth to climb back into the game.
- Cal closed the game on a 3-1 run to secure the win.
- Kai Inoue had a game-high plus/minus of 5.0.
- The Bears shot at a 44.4% (16-for-36) clip.
- As a team, Cal claimed seven steals.
- The Bears recorded 11 assists.
- Cal forced 21 turnovers in the contest.
- A total of 75 missed shots occurred in the game.
NEXT UP
Cal will close the weekend out at home against No. 6 San Jose State on Sunday at Spieker Aquatics Complex at 1 p.m. PT. Coverage will be available on Overnght.
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal men's water polo, follow the Bears on Twitter (
@CalWaterPolo) and Instagram (
@calmwaterpolo).
