Cal Men's Water Polo repeats as NCAA champion
Down 4 with less than 6 minutes left in regulation, Golden Bears shocks the USC Trojans for the program's 16th NCAA title.
WOW! Just when a dream season appeared to be going awry in the end, Cal Menβs Water Polo dug deep. Down by 4 goals with less than 6 minutes left, Golden Bears fought for every scoring opportunity to get the home crowd back in the match. When the final buzzer sounds, Cal is the improbable 2022 NCAA champion.
![Twitter avatar for @CalAthletics](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/CalAthletics.jpg)
ππππ 2 ππππ ππΌπππππΌπ πΎππΌππππππ
#GoBears π»π
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FFjLLI_qVQAArDRU.jpg)
Papanikolaou scored 7 goals to tie a career-best.
MORE ON THIS MATCH COMING SOON.
What a spectacular game. I've played and watched a lot of water polo in my life, and that was just epic. With high-scoring Max Casabella not having a typical game, Papa put the team on his back in every way imaginable. Performed the entire repertoire of shots from the hole, then added a pretty one from the perimeter. And Valera -- 4 for 8 shooting?? Are you kidding?
I've alluded to it before, but now let me be crystal clear: this is THE best ticket for athletics at Cal right now. Every single home game was a salve for the embarrassment of football, topped off with a thriller of a National Championship, at home. If you haven't been yet...well, I just don't know what to say.
Tommy Trojan couldn't lead his horse to water.