LOS ANGELES – In a battle of two of the top men's water polo programs in the nation, No. 3 California topped No. 6 Stanford in the third-place game of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Tournament Sunday at Spieker Aquatics Center on the UCLA campus.
Stanford, the No. 4 seed in the MPSF Tournament, jumped on the board first in the contest as Cody Smith scored the first of his five goals in the contest. The junior punched in his second goal of the match in the final second of the first quarter to pull the Cardinal within a goal at 3-2.
The Golden Bears, the No. 3 seed in the MPSF Tournament, scored the next four goals to extend their lead to 7-2, before Blake Parrish ended Cal's run with a score in the final two minutes of the half.
Cal (20-4) opened the second half with three straight goals to stretch its least to 10-3.
A pair of goals by Smith and a single score from Sam Pfeil pulled Stanford back within four goals with 2:51 remaining in the third quarter.
The Bears responded with the match's next five goals to open a 15-6 lead with 3:30 to play in the contest.
Smith, Bennett Williams and Justin Roberto scored the match's final three goals, but the Cardinal could not erase the deficit any further, dropping the 15-9 decision to the Golden Bears.
Junior Oliver Lewis posted nine saves in goal for Stanford in the contest.
Stanford concluded its season 13-8 overall with a fourth-place finish in the MPSF Tournament. Two members of the Cardinal, Adam Warmoth and Kyle Weikert, will be missed by the program. The pair contributed to the Cardinal's success each of the past four seasons.
