BERKELEY – The No. 4 California women's water polo team fought through another tight MPSF Tournament test but took a 10-9 loss to No. 3 UCLA in today's third-place game. Maria Bogachenko delivered a second straight hat trick for the Golden Bears, who are now 14-7 and await the announcement of the NCAA Tournament bracket to come on Monday.

The Bears broke through first on a 6-on-5 blast from Harper Price, only to have the Bruins break off a 4-0 rally by the end of the first frame. Undeterred, Cal answered right back. Rosalie Hassett found Bogachenko, then buried her own with a spike off a feed from Julia Bonaguidi to get the Bears one back. At 4:38, Abbi Magee set up Bogachenko for the equalizer on a nearside strike. After UCLA broke its silence with a power play goal, Magee set the table for a sweet sweeping score from Eszter Varró to knot the game up 5-5 for halftime. 

After lightning in the area put a pause on action for about a half hour, Cal struck on its first possession of the second half.  Bogachenko found Magee for a rocket shot to edge the Bears into a 6-5 lead early in the third. That would be all Cal could convert in the period, though, and UCLA built an 8-6 advantage entering the fourth. Magee was the creator for Cal in that next stretch, serving up assists on goals by Bogachenko and Bonaguidi as the Bears pulled even at 8-8 with 5:41 to go. The Bruins built back a two-goal lead, although it didn't last long. Feline Voordouw earned a 5-meter penalty soon after for the Bears, and Magee finished it off to make it a one-goal game at 10-9 with 1:07 remaining. Cal's defense stood tall next, with Holly Dunn nabbing a steal to take the Bears on the attack, although UCLA was able to stop its host's last look to hold on for the Bruin win.

MPSF SEMIFINAL
[3] UCLA 10, [4] Cal 9
April 12, 2026 | Spieker Aquatics Complex (Berkeley, Calif.)
CAL     1 - 4 - 1 - 3 = 9
UCLA  4 - 1 - 3 - 2 = 10

SCORING:
CAL – Maria Bogachenko 3, Abbi Magee 2, Harper Price, Rosalie Hassett, Eszter Varró, Julia Bonaguidi.
UCLA – Elektra Urbatsch 3, Taylor Smith 2, Bia Mantellato 2, Tali Stryker 2, Emma Lineback.

SAVES: Talia Fonseca (CAL) 8, Lauren Steele (UCLA) 13.

NEXT: Cal now awaits the announcement of the 2026 NCAA Tournament selections, which will be revealed at 5 p.m. PT on ncaa.com.

NOTABLE:
- With two goals today Abbi Magee continues to lead Cal with at least one goal scored in 19 games this season.
- With their goals today, Maria Bogachenko (3 goals) and Rosalie Hassett (1 goal) have scored in Cal's last five games.

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