Courtesy: Cal Athletics
LOS ANGELES – The No. 1 California men’s water polo team kicked off the MPSF Invitational Friday at USC’s Uytengsu Aquatics Center with a 23-3 victory over Whittier.
With the win, the Golden Bears improved to 10-0 for the third straight season. Cal went over 20 goals for the first time this year, led by Jordi Gascon’s four goals.
The Bears wasted no time in their first of four contests this weekend, as Marci Szatmary put away the first two goals of the game in the opening minutes. Szatmary went on to record his first hat trick of the season, as did Piero Arienti and Wyatt Mundelius.
Arienti extended his scoring streak to three straight games as he gave Cal a 5-1 lead in the final minute of the opening period. The Bears continued pouring it on the second, with Gascon scoring three unanswered goals to begin the quarter. Cal went into halftime leading 12-2.
The Bears shut out the Poets (0-6) in the third quarter and finished things off with five more goals in the final frame. Starting at goalkeeper for the second time this year, junior Kai Seed finished with a season-best 11 saves.
Cal continues the MPSF Invitational with two more games on Saturday, beginning with an 8 a.m. PT meeting with No. 11 Long Beach State.
No. 1 California 23, Whittier 3
Cal 5 7 6 5 – 23
Whittier 2 1 0 0 – 3
Cal Goals: Jordi Gascon 4, Wyatt Mundelius 3, Marton Szatmary 3, Piero Arienti 3, Roberto Valera 2, Carter Loth 2, George Avakian 2, Jake Howerton, Nik Mirkovic, Jake Stone, William Kelly
Whittier Goals: Julien Breck 2, Andrew Muro
Cal Saves: Kai Seed 11
Whittier Saves: Kenshiro Matuszawa 4