Courtesy: Cal Athletics
BERKELEY – With its lineup back at full strength for the first time since late September, the No. 2 California men’s water polo team defeated No. 4 Stanford 12-8 on Saturday in a comfortable wire-to-wire victory.
Four-time All-American Nikolaos Papanikolaou made his 2023 home debut on the Big Splash Senior Day, dominating on both ends and tying for game high honors with three goals on three shots to go with four steals and four drawn exclusions. Roberto Valera also finished with three goals, adding two assists and a pair of field blocks.
Fresh off winning the gold medal with Team USA at the Pan American Games, goalkeeper Adrian Weinberg returned from a five-game absence and looked sharp from the outset. Weinberg had four saves and a steal in less than four minutes of play, while Max Casabella, Valera and Albert Ponferrada all connected on their first shot attempts to get the Golden Bears (19-4, 3-3) out to an early 3-1 advantage.
After making his sixth save in the final minutes of the opening period, Weinberg got it out to Papanikolaou on the counter. The two-time reigning national player of the year calmly lofted it in off the inside of the far post, putting Cal ahead 4-2 and giving him his first goal at Spieker Aquatics Complex since he scored seven in last year’s national championship game.
The Bears continued to keep the pressure high from there. Nik Mirkovic jumped a passing lane for one of his two steals on the Cardinal’s (14-7, 2-4) first possession of the second quarter, leading to a second straight counterattack goal, this time by senior co-captain Garrett Dunn.
Stanford fought back to cut the lead to one goal, but Papanikolaou secured his brace with a signature strike, whipping in a ferocious, no-look backhand to make it 6-4 heading into halftime. Weinberg finished his outstanding opening half with 10 saves, two steals and an assist.
Cal pulled away in the third quarter with goals by Ryder Hagan, Jake Howerton and Jake Stone. Papanikolaou and Valera later sealed the win with back-to-back daggers in the fourth period to cap a 4-1 Bear run. Valera added one more in the final minutes, shooting from way outside into an empty net.
With the win, the Bears head into the postseason with the second-best record in the MPSF D-I West standings. They will host next week’s MPSF Championships as the No. 3 seed, opening the three-day tournament against No. 6 Penn St. Behrend on Friday, Nov. 17 at 1 p.m.
No. 2 California 12, No. 4 Stanford 8
Cal 4 2 3 3 – 12
Stan 2 2 1 3 – 8
Cal Goals: Roberto Valera 3, Nikolaos Papanikolaou 3, Albert Ponferrada, Garrett Dunn, Jake Howerton, Max Casabella, Jake Stone, Ryder Hagan
Stan Goals: Riley Pittman 3, Ethan Parrish 3, Grant Watson, Tanner Pulice
Cal Saves: Adrian Weinberg 13
Stan Saves: Liam Harrison 12
Cal 6, Stanford 4
HTThe Bears came out firing and haven’t trailed heading into the 3rd.#GoBears 🐻 pic.twitter.com/bM7a1RNfwV
— Cal Water Polo (@CalWaterPolo) November 11, 2023