September 20, 1998
Newport Beach, CA - In their first game of the tournament, against Long Beach State, Cal came out strong, shutting LBSU out in the first quarter. But Long Beach came charging back in the second, scoring four goals to lead at the half, 4-3. Cal was able to regain its composure in the second half, outscoring Long Beach 5-2 to secure the win. Leading the offensive attack for the Bears in the first game were junior driver Albert Won with four goals, including a two-pointer, and senior two-meter man Ryan Flynn, who had two goals. Goalie Peter Kiefer's nine saves paced the defense.
Long Beach State 0 4 1 1 -- 6
California 2 1 3 2 -- 8
LBSU: Colyer 3, Piossel, Lindstrom, Sakatini.
Cal: Won 4 (1 two-pt), Flynn 2, Arroyo.
Saves: Carter (LBSU) 7, Kiefer (Cal) 9.
The second game proved to be the more challenging of the two for the Bears, as it took them three overtime periods, including sudden death, to overcome UC San Diego. After falling behind 3-1 in the first quarter, Cal trailed the entire contest, up until the fourth quarter when the Bears came roaring back, scoring four and holding the Tritons to only two points in the period to deadlock the game 7-7, at the end of regulation.
After exchanging goals in the two regular overtime periods, UCSD's point coming in the first, Cal's coming in the second, the two teams entered sudden death tied 8-8. It took Flynn's game-winning score, his sixth in the contest, to give the Bears their second victory of the day, propelling them to the tournament semifinals.
Flynn, who led the team with eight goals on the day, improved his season total to 12 and has the second highest total in the tournament thus far, trailing UCLA's Sean Kern by one net. Kiefer, who had five saves in the second game, increased his season total to 20.
Cal will face No. 5 USC in the tournament semifinals Sunday at 10:15. The Trojans advanced to the semis by upsetting top-seeded Stanford, 7-6 and defeating No. 13 Air Force, 16-3. The winner will advance to the championships at 4:45 tomorrow afternoon, where they will face either UCLA or Pepperdine.
UC San Diego 3 1 1 2 0 1 0 -- 8
California 1 1 1 4 1 0 1 -- 9
UCSD: Cole 2, Djapic, Wylie, Lindstrom, Silvestri, Dandy.
Cal: Flynn 6, Hazor 2, Stone.
Saves: Busch (UCSD) 12, Kiefer (Cal) 5.
