No. 5 Cal water polo upsets top-ranked UCLA

By Zack Alspaugh

BERKELEY – The No. 5 California women’s water polo made senior day a success by upsetting No. 1 UCLA, 8-6 Saturday, snapping the Bruins’ 10 game winning streak.

Chants of “Go Bears” reverberated throughout Spieker Aquatic Complex as the Bruins worked the ball around looking for a late fourth quarter comeback. But, today was Cal’s day. The Golden Bears held strong as Lindsay Dorst deflected a shot in goal and the Cal defense forced a turnover to seal the victory.

Berkeley junior Breda Vosters led all scoring with four goals and senior Elizabeth McLaren made her last home game count, finishing with a three-goal hat trick. Keeper Lindsay Dorst made eight saves.

The Bruins were led by Becca Dorst, who netted three, and Brooke Martin, who put away two. Keeper Caitlin Dement had a game-high nine saves.

In the first quarter, courtesy of Dorst’s first goal, UCLA jumped to a 1-0 lead just 1:14 into the game. Cal quickly responded with a 5-0 run and impeccable defense, holding the Bruins scoreless for 11 straight minutes. The Bruin’s Brooke Martin finally snapped the scoreless streak with a penalty shot goal late in the half.

The second half started with electricity as the Bruins were able to capitalize on a power play goal by Dorst. The Bears answered back with a McLaren goal, completing her hat trick. Both teams would trade goals late in the third quarter to make the score 7-4.

With 6:24 left in the fourth, Vosters found the back of the cage in what seemed to be the nail in the coffin. The Bruins, undeterred, responded with two quick goals from KK Clark (6:07) and Sarah Orozco (4:06).   The Golden Bear fans began to get a little restless as UCLA had all the momentum.

But, in their home pool and on a day when their seniors were being honored, Cal would not be denied.  They simply outplayed the Bruins for a monumental 8-6 win.

UCLA will take on UC Irvine next Saturday and Cal will complete their regular season schedule at Stanford. Cal improves to a 17-6 overall, 4-2 in conference play and maintains an undefeated record of 8-0 at home. The Bruins slipped to 16-2 overall and, with their first conference loss, slide to 5-1.