Oct. 17, 1997
No. 2 Ranked Bears Defeat Massachusetts, 12-7
PLEASANT HILL, Calif. -- The No. 2 ranked California men's water polo team defeated No. 15 ranked Massachusetts, 12-7, Friday at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill. The Bears boost their record to 11-2, while the Minutemen fall to 17-5 overall.
The victory over UMass was California head coach Steve Heaston's 200th career victory in his ninth season as the Bears head coach (200-41, .830 winning percentage).
UMass had jumped out to a 2-1 lead after the first period, but after Cal's Ryan Flynn scored a goal with 5:23 left in the second period to break a 3-3 tie, the Bears went on to rattle off four more straight points to take an 8-3 lead. The Minutemen's Brian Stahl finally broke the UMass scoring draught with 34 seconds left in the third period, but Cal went on to outscore the Minutemen, 4-3, the rest of the way to coast to the 12-7 win.
Top scorer for the Bears was Flynn with three goals, followed by two goals each from Ryan Feaver, Phinney Gardner and Jeff Molougney. The leading scorer for UMass was Stahl with four goals.
Cal will next travel to the two-day Nor Cal Tournament, Sat.-Sun. Oct. 18-19 at West Valley College in Saratoga, CA and Stanford, CA. The Bears will play Brown at 8 a.m. Saturday at West Valley College in the first round of the Nor Cal Tournament.
Massachusetts 2 1 1 3 --7
California 1 5 3 3 --12
Scoring:
UMass: Stahl 4, Koenenmann 1, Roman 1, Troupis 1.
California: Flynn 3, Feaver 2, Gardner 2, Molougney 2, Kittredge 1, Ross 1, Smith 1.
Saves: Kiefer 5 (Cal), Huntley 5 (UMass).
Records: California 11-2, Massachusetts 17-5.
