Oct. 31, 2010
Photo Gallery 
MALIBU, Calif.- The Cal Golden Bears proved worthy of their national No. 1 ranking Sunday at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool following an 18-7 triumph over the No. 10 Pepperdine Waves. Cal improved to 15-2 on the season and remained unbeaten in the MPSF at 4-0, while Pepperdine dropped to 9-12 overall and 1-5 vs. the conference.
Luka Saponjic and Zach White paced the Bears' offense with four goals each with Max Bergeson tacking on a hat trick. Cory Nasoff, Ivan Rackov and Charlie Steffens also added two goals each as Cal won its seventh consecutive match and lit the scoreboard 18 times for the second time in as many games.
The Bears upended No. 5 UC Irvine Saturday by a similar margin, 18-9.
Calscored six times in the first quarter and nearly blanked Pepperdine in the opening frame if not for redshirt sophomore Mike Tragitt (Clovis, Calif./Clovis HS) hitting the upper right corner from downtown with a second left on the shot clock. Tragitt's goal was his third of the year and was one of four extra-man opportunities converted by the Waves.
In the second quarter, sophomore Danny White (Oxnard, Calif./Rio Mesa HS) and junior Nathan Castillo (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor HS) scored on consecutive possessions to bring Pepperdine back within four goals at 7-3, but Cal unfortunately had an answer each time and later scored five times on nine chances in the third quarter to grab its first double-digit lead of the afternoon.
The Waves' lone goal of the third quarter was netted by redshirt junior Travis Gough (Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad HS), who was likely playing in his final home game since he's on track to graduate this coming spring with a degree in advertising. However, he still has one year of eligibility remaining after missing all of 2008 with an injury.
In the fourth quarter, redshirt sophomore Matt Brown (Bellevue, Wash./Brown Academy) sidearmed a goal from inside the pit, James Perry (Orinda, Calif./Miramonte HS) knocked in White's field-blocked shot, and true freshman Jake Schrimpf (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic HS) capped Pepperdine's scoring with a blast from the far side.
Senior goalkeeper Bryce McLain (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Beach HS) started and played all four quarters in his final home appearance, collecting eight saves and two steals.
The Waves return to action 10 days from today on Thursday night Nov. 11 at USC. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m.
No. 1 Cal 18, No. 10 Pepperdine 7
Score By Quarters 1 2 3 4 F
Cal(15-2, 4-0) 6 3 5 4 18
Pepperdine (9-12, 1-5) 1 2 1 3 7
Goals
Cal: Luka Saponjic (4), Zach White (4), Max Bergeson (3), Cory Nasoff (2), Ivan Rackov (2), Charlie Steffens (2), Giacomo Cupido
Pepperdine: Matt Brown, Nathan Castillo, Travis Gough, James Perry, Jake Schrimpf, Mike Tragitt, Danny White
Saves
Cal: Justin Parsons (7), Wil Toppen (1)
Pepperdine: Bryce McLain (8)
6-On-5 Opportunities
Cal: 3/7
Pepperdine: 4/8
