After defeating USC in semi, Cal faces UCLA in NCAA Men's Water Polo championship final on Sunday

Golden Bears are one win away from completing a third three-peat in program history

If Cal Bears are again in the same situation on Sunday as on Saturday, senior goalkeeper Adrian Weinberg now knows what he should have done to kill the clock completely on the final possession. It would also set off a much bigger celebration from the home of USC, Spieker Pavilion¹ at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.

Per Cal head coach Kirk Everist from his explanation to the press after the game, the goalkeeper (or any player) can kill the clock (while the ball is in the air) only by throwing the ball toward the goal. As was the case on Saturday, Weinberg’s long lob of the ball was nowhere near the goal, allowing the referee to put three seconds back on the clock for one final USC equalizing attempt. Fortunately for the Golden Bears, the Trojans’ last shot was field blocked. Cal prevailed by a 10-9 final to advance to Sunday’s NCAA Championship Final against UCLA.

On Saturday’s semifinals, top-seed UCLA Bruins encountered a somewhat stronger than expected resistance from Princeton. UCLA’s 17-13 win was closer than the final margin.

On the other half of the bracket, the grudge match between Cal and host USC was as close as the last few postseason matchups, with the Golden Bears prevailing by a mere goal at the end of 32 eventful minutes of water polo.

California Golden Bears never trailed on Saturday, but they also could not create a separation from the host USC Trojans, who have played much better water polo late in the season. In a script that was very similar to the MPSF Championship final between the same two squads two weekends ago from Berkeley, Cal consistently had a slim one- or two- goal lead for the bulk of the match but could not pull away. USC was able to equalize early in the fourth quarter, creating tense possessions from both sides. An unlikely hero scored the game-winning goal for the Golden Bears. Sophomore Marci Szatmary broke the 9-9 tie with 1:47 left in regulation with a power throw to the top left corner of the goal. Be sure to check out his emotional celebration below.

Cal killed the game thanks to the accurate and powerful arm of goalkeeper Adrian Weinberg, who also made 11 big saves; Everist joked that maybe Weinberg (bound to play starting keeper for Team USA at the Paris 2024 Olympics) could be a QB and make some NIL money in a second career. Choosing to run out the clock in their possession instead of attacking, keeper Weinberg kept the ball and only made an accurate long pass to Max Casabella across the full length of the pool as the play clock winds down. Casabella got the ball and drew contact to earn a controversial deflating foul called on the Trojans that allowed Cal to run the clock down to the final three seconds.

Cal fans who missed the live streams can watch the highlight or the full match via the NCAA links below (for those who run Ad Blocks, you would need to turn those off to watch these).

NCAA: semifinal highlights | Full Cal vs. USC Semifinal replay

NCAA: Full Cal vs. Fordham Quarterfinal replay

https://twitter.com/CalWaterPolo/status/1730001155626053773

Cal superstar Nikolaos Papanikolaou was held goalless but still made a huge impact in earning a game-high nine earned exclusions which turned into power play opportunities. With key player Roberto Valera, Cal’s leading assist man and second-leading scorer, still ineligible to play for the second straight match due to a game misconduct, the Golden Bears had to rely on their depth. Foul troubles kept Albert Ponferrada and Friday’s star Wyatt Mundelius (5 goals and 4 steals against Fordham) out of the pool for long stretches, but junior Jake Howerton stepped up big in the 3rd quarter with a team-high four goals that momentarily gave Cal a three-goal lead, and sophomore Szatmary got that key go-ahead goal. These are the kinds of performances that can motivate them to take a big leap forward next year when there will be ample need for them to be scoring threats consistently.

While Papanikolaou could not beat USC keeper Bernardo Herzer (Papa came close on a crazy backhand spin shot that grazed the post and stayed out), he was still creating spacing and room for Cal’s outside shooters to score. Max Casabella, Cal’s leading scorer, also registered a hat-trick in this semifinal.

USC Trojans were able to stay close thanks to earning and converting on two penalty shots. Massimo Di Martire led the way for them with three goals. The MPSF Newcomer of the Year last season as an incoming graduate student, Di Martire had a strong second year and might still be eligible for more collegiate water polo next year.

Even though Cal earned an uncharacteristic easy 12-5 win over the USC Trojans earlier this year, they knew this semifinal match was going to be a struggle. Their next challenge will be to reverse the 0-3 season record against the UCLA Bruins.

As I wrote in my preview, Cal Bears can excuse two of those losses on missing key personnel (Papanikolaou was hurt in one and Weinberg was away for USA Senior Team duty in another). Regardless, the championship final should be another tight contest that may come down to execution on a key possession.

“I am very grateful to get another opportunity to play them. [UCLA is] a great team,” Adrian Weinberg said. “It will come down to whoever wants it more.”

The two-time defending NCAA champions, California Golden Bears, sure know how to win. While Cal’s semifinal match might be more physically and mentally demanding than what UCLA had gone through, this could also turn out to be an advantage. The change in format to the NCAA Tournament this year meant that all of the finalists will be playing their third match on their third day. Cal had a relatively smooth 16-6 win over Fordham on Friday. Perhaps, Roberto Valera being completely fresh might give Cal an extra boost.

Cal Men’s Water Polo is the first of three Cal Athletics teams that are seeking a three-peat this school year. Let’s see if they can accomplish this rare feat on Sunday, and if Cal Men’s Swimming and Diving and Cal Men’s Crew can follow suit in 2024.

NCAA Men’s Water Polo Championship Final:

Cal vs. UCLA

Where: Los Angeles, CA (Uytengsu Aquatics Center, hosted by USC)

When: 3 PM PT

TV: ESPNU

ROLL ON YOU BEARS!

1. The Spieker family has their name on the aquatic centers of Cal (Spieker Aquatics Complex), UCLA (Spieker Aquatics Center), USC, and Stanford (supposedly some part of the Avery Aquatic Center is named after the Spiekers). They also have their name (Spieker Field) at the Rose Bowl.