Courtesy: Cal Athletics
BERKELEY – Sophomore Max Casabella scored four goals – including a pivotal score on a penalty shot with less than two minutes to play – and the No. 2 Cal men’s water polo team held off No. 5 USC 14-10 on Saturday afternoon in its Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener at a raucous Spieker Aquatics Complex.
Casabella’s final goal gave the Bears (14-1, 1-0) a 12-10 lead with 1:40 to go after the Trojans had cut a three-goal deficit to one. Cal goalie Adrian Weinberg then came up with a key save on USC’s ensuing possession, and a goal by senior Marko Valecic put the game out of reach for the Bears.
Fifth-year senior Jack Deely registered three goals and three assists while sophomore Roberto Valera had three goals and two assists.
Cal fed off an energetic standing-room-only crowd and raced out to a 3-0 lead on goals by Casabella, Valera and Nikolaos Papanikolaou during the first four minutes of the game. After the Trojans finally got on the scoreboard, Deely answered back immediately and the Bears extended the advantage to 5-1 early in the second quarter.
Cal still led 10-6 early in the fourth quarter but USC reeled off three straight goals to cut the deficit to a single goal with just over three minutes remaining in the game.
Deely scored again to give the Bears some temporary breathing room, but the Trojans closed to within one again.
Weinberg finished with 10 saves and Papanikolaou had six earned exclusions.
The Bears have now won both games they have played this season against the Trojans, who Cal defeated in last season’s NCAA championship game. The Bears also beat USC at last month’s Stanford Invitational.
Cal returns to action Thursday when it visits No. 6 Long Beach State at 5 p.m.
No. 2 Cal 14, No. 5 USC 10
USC 1 3 2 4 – 10
Cal 4 2 3 5 – 14
USC Goals: Massimo Di Matire 3, Ashworth Molthen 2, Carson Kranz 2, Luka Brnetic, Marcus Longton, Andrej Grgurevic
Cal Goals: M. Casabella 4, Valera 3, Jack Deely 3, Marko Valecic, Nikolaos Papanilolaou, Jake Howerton, Warren Loth.
USC Saves: Kyle McKenney 8.
Cal Saves: Adrian Weinberg 10.
Courtesy: USC Athletics
BERKELEY, CALIF. — The No. 5 USC men’s water polo team was forced into catchup mode early in today’s MPSF test at No. 2 California, and although the Trojans were able to get within one in the fourth frame, the host Golden Bears got the goals they needed to notch a 14-10 win. Massimo Di Martire tallied three goals, and goalie Kyle McKenney recorded nine saves, but USC was left with the loss today in Berkeley, Calif. USC goes to 13-5 overall and is now 0-1 in MPSF play.
The Golden Bears surged to a 3-0 lead out of the gates to put the Trojans in a tough spot. Down by four goals on several occasions, USC was able to carve the deficit down to two during the second and third frames. Back-to-back goals from Massimo Di Martire and Carson Kranz pulled the score to 5-3 midway through the second, and then Ashworth Molthen’s 6-on-5 finish off a fed from Marcus Longton had it at 6-4 to close the first half. Down 8-4 in the third, Molthen and Kranz would strike again for the Trojan cause, and it was an 8-6 deficit until Cal converted a power play, leaving USC behind 9-6 entering the fourth.
The Trojans would again find themselves in a four-goal hole early in the fourth. A couple key USC defensive stops helped fuel up the Trojans, who got a spark from a cross cage blast from Marcus Longton. Di Martire nabbed a steal next, and Max Miller earned a 6-on-5 for USC. Longton would find Di Martire for the nearside strike there, and USC was again within two, trailing 10-8. Kyle McKenney interrupted a Cal offensive look with a steal, and then Molthen hit Andrej Grgurevic for a sizzling score that had USC in reach, down 10-9 with 3:05 to go. That’s when Cal regrouped, however, finding the top corner to go up 11-9. Luka Brnetic catapulted in a shot to the low corner for USC next, and it was 11-10 with 1:55 remaining. But the Trojans would come up empty on the offensive end in the final stretch, while Cal converted a 5-meter penalty shot and then found two more in the final minute — an even score and an empty net — to finish off a 14-10 win.
NEXT:
USC heads to Malibu next weekend to take on Pepperdine at 12 p.m. on Saturday (Oct. 22) in a nonconference clash.
NOTABLE:
– With two goals today, Ashworth Molthen has tallied five consecutive multiple-goal games; he leads the team with 13 multiple-goal games this season.
– With three goals today, Massimo Di Martire continues to lead USC and the MPSF in scoring this season, now with 42 goals.
#2 California 14, #5 USC 10
Oct. 15, 2022 | Spieker Aquatics Complex (Berkeley, Calif)
USC 1 – 3 – 2 – 4 = 10
CAL 4 – 2 – 3 – 5 = 14
SCORING:
USC — Massimo Di Martire 3, Carson Kranz 2, Ashworth Molthen 2, Marcus Longton, Andrej Grgurevic, Luka Brnetic.
CAL — Max Casabella 4, Jack Deely 3, Roberto Valera 3, Marko Valecic, Nikolaos Papanikolaou, Jake Howerton, Warren Loth.
SAVES: Kyle McKenney (USC) 9, Adrian Weinberg (CAL) 10.