UCLA
California (Semifinals)
No. 2 UCLA Falls in OT at No. 3 California, 9-8
December 03, 2016 | Men's Water Polo
Senior Ryder Roberts led the Bruins with a game-high-tying two goals against the Golden Bears.
SOCIAL MEDIA:ย MWP on Twitterย |ย MWP on Facebookย |ย MWP on Instagram
BERKELEY, Calif.ย --ย The second-seeded UCLA Bruins dropped a heartbreaker on Saturday evening, falling to third-seeded California, 9-8, in overtime in the semifinals of the 2016 NCAA Championship at Spieker Aquatics Complex. The Bruins ended the season with a 25-3 overall record, setting the UCLA and NCAA all-time winning streak during the regular seasonย at 57 games.
Senior Ryder Robertsย led the Bruins with a game-high-tying two goals. Senior goalkeeper Garrett Dannerย played the entire game in the cage and registered 11 saves. Lazar Andric played the entire contest in goal for California, recording 16 saves.
Junior Jack Grover opened the scoring in the first with a power play goal (6:14). Vassilis Tzavaras got the equalizer on a 6-on-5 opportunity at the 4:45 mark. Both teams were 1-for-3 on power plays in the opening quarter to finish the period in a 1-1 draw.
Odysseas Masmanidis broke the tie with a goal at set (5:25) to give Cal a 2-1 advantage. That would be the only score of the second period as the Golden Bears went into halftime with a 2-1 lead. Andric had 10 saves by halftime for Cal, Danner had eight for the Bruins.
Safak Simsek gave Cal a 3-1 lead with a power play goal at the 6:02 mark of the third period. Senior Gordon Marshall trimmed the lead to 3-2 with a power play strike (5:34). But the Golden Bears pushed it to 4-2 with another power play goal from Simsek (4:41), his second of the game. Senior Ryder Roberts cut the lead to 4-3 with a power play goal (3:53). Senior Patrick Fellnerย tied the game at 4-4 with a bar-in goal from distance (1:46). Luca Cupido put Cal back in front with a near-side skipper (0:47) and Farrel South added a power play goal (0:05)ย as the Golden Bears took a 6-4 lead into the fourth.
Johnny Hooper opened the scoring in the fourth with a power play goal at the 6:43 mark to push the lead to 7-4. But the Bruins mounted a huge comeback to retake the lead. Roberts had an immediate answer with a goal from the front court (6:34) to cut the lead to 7-5. Then junior Alex Roelseย cut the lead to 7-6 with an incredible cross-cage skipper (5:46). Sophomore Warren Snyder would laterย tieย the game at 7-7 with a power play goal at set off a perfect feed from Roberts. Senior Chancellor Ramirez made it four straight goals with a cross-cage shot to give the Bruins an 8-7 lead (3:57). But Conor Neumann snuck a shot past Danner from the front courtย to tie it at 8-8 (3:34). Both teams had opportunities down the stretch but were denied as the game was sentย into overtime for the second straight game involving the two teams.
The first overtime was scoreless. But in the second overtime, Neumann scored his second of the game on a power play with 0:55 to go to give Cal a 9-8 lead. UCLA called its final timeout. The Bruins had two possessions in the final minute but failed to convert as the Golden Bears advanced to face No. 1 USC in the NCAA title game. It marked the first win by Cal over UCLA since 2012, as the Bruins won 10 straight over the Golden Bears during that span.
No. 2ย UCLA at No. 3 California (NCAA Semifinalย Game)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1OT | 2OT | F |
| No. 2 UCLA | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| No. 3 California | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
6x5 -ย UCLA - 4/12 - CAL - 5/12
Penalties -ย UCLA - 0/0 - CAL - 0/0
UCLA Goals:ย Ryder Roberts 2, Jack Groverย 1, Gordon Marshall 1, Patrick Fellner 1, Alex Roelse 1, Chancellor Ramirez 1, Warren Snyder 1
UCLAย Saves:ย Garrett Dannerย 11
CAL Goals:ย Safakย Simsekย 2, Conor Neumann 2, Vassilis Tzavarasย 1, Odysseas Masmanidis 1, Luca Cupido 1, Farrel South 1, Johnny Hooper 1
CAL Saves:ย Lazar Andricย 16
