Berkeley, Calif. - The No. 2 Pacific men's water polo team unloaded a six-goal fourth quarter on California to lay claim to sole possession of the second spot in both the polls and the MPSF standings Saturday. Devon Thumwood and Alex Obert each posted hat tricks, while Krisztian Laczkovics added two fourth-quarter goals for Pacific.
The Tigers trailed 8-5 entering the fourth quarter, but unleashed a 6-1 run on the Bears, who entered the game tied for No. 2 in the polls and in the MPSF standings' loss column. Pacific's final six goals came on their final six shots of the game.
It was the second time against the Bears that Pacific rallied late. The Tigers trailed 9-4 with seven minutes remaining in regulation at the SoCal Tournament, only to score the final five goals of regulation before falling in overtime.
Pacific improves to 21-3 overall, 7-1 in MPSF play. The Tigers have lost just once in regulation, to No. 1 and unbeaten UCLA, with the other two losses coming to Cal, both in overtime.
Aleksandar Petrovic, Ikko Saito and Casey Fleming also added goals, with Flemings' insurance goal with 19 seconds left holding up as the game-winner.
Brady Moore posted nine saves in goal for the Tigers, while Lazar Andric stopped seven for Cal. The Tigers scored on 11 of 22 shots, while the Bears converted 10-of-36.
The Tigers jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but Cal controlled the match for the next 20 minutes, outscoring Pacific 8-2 while forcing 14 turnovers.
Thumwood opened the scoring at the 6:54 mark as he tallied following a shot from Obert that hit the post. Thumwood added his second on a long outlet pass from Moore giving Pacific a 2-0 lead at the 5:10 mark. The Pacific defense killed a Cal 6-on-5, and Petrovic set up Saito for a 3-0 lead before the Bears cracked the scoreboard. Odysseas Masmanidis cut the Tigers lead to 3-1. After Cal killed a Pacific power-play, the Tigers survived a five-meter penalty attempt. But Luca Cupido brought the Bears within one at 3-2 and Cal fended off a Pacific 6-on-5 to close the quarter.
In the second, Masmanidis knotted the game at 3-3 before Petrovic converted to restore a Pacific lead. Cupido converted a power-play goal and Conor Neumann gave the Bears their first lead at 5-4, 55 seconds before halftime.
Pacific was 4-for-11 shooting in the first half, but committed 10 turnovers and failed to convert on seven power-play opportunities through the first 16 minutes.
Colin Mulcahy gave Cal their first two-goal lead with a five-meter penalty 50 seconds into the third as the Bears led 6-4. Obert finally posted the Tigers' first power-play goal, finishing a Laczkovics feed on the Tigers ninth 6-on-5 advantage, trimming Cal's lead to 6-5 with 1:56 to go in the third. Ferrel South answered for the Bears on the man-advantage and following another turnover, the Bears' Thomas Carroll finished a pass from Cupido with 12 seconds left in the quarter for an 8-5 lead.
Pacific came alive in the fourth as Laczkovics polished off a pass from Stevenson to trim the deficit to 8-6 with 5:51 to play. After a defensive stop, the Tigers drew a 6-on-5 and out of a timeout, Thumwood capped the hat trick with a quick shot after Moore put it back in play. Obert then knotted the game up at 8-8 with 3:30 left in the fourth as Saito set him up for the even-strength goal. Laczkovics restored a Pacific lead with an even-strength goal on the Tigers' next possession, the fourth consecutive Pacific score.
However, Cupido tied the game at 9-9 for Cal with 1:17 left in regulation. On the ensuing possession Obert answered right back 12 seconds later for a 10-9 Tiger advantage. After a defensive stop, Casey Fleming provided the dagger with a goal off an assist from Kale Ai with just 19 seconds left. Out of a timeout, Cupido tacked on a late goal for Cal but the Tigers spread the pool and ran out the clock.
Cal falls to 19-5 overall, 5-2 in MPSF play.
With the win, Pacific assures themselves the number two seed in the MPSF Tournament, and will line up on the opposite of the bracket as No. 1 UCLA, No. 5 Stanford and either Cal or USC, which are tied at 5-2 in the MPSF. The Tigers hold the tie-breaker on both Cal and USC with regular season MPSF wins.
Pacific will wrap the regular season on Saturday at home against No. 8 Long Beach State on senior day at Chris Kjeldsen Pool at noon.
