Dec. 3, 2006

LOS ANGELES - The 2006 National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championship went beyond expectations as California's Jeff Tyrrell scored with no time on the clock to lift the Bears to a 7-6 win over USC for their 12th national championship in program history. Tyrrell's shot came after USC tied it on a goal from Thomas Hale with just two seconds left in front of 2,723 at the Burns Recreation and Aquatics Center on the campus of Loyola Marymount University on Sunday afternoon.

"It was a great feeling to see that thing go into the net," California head coach Kirk Everist said. "We had played USC five times for championships this season; so we were getting used to playing them for championships. Winning the MPSF gave us a lot of confidence going into this weekend."

The conclusion of the game typified one of the most memorable finishes in men's collegiate water polo as the teams met for the fifth time on the season, the first three wins by USC, the last two, the MPSF title game and the NCAA championship, by Cal. Juan Delgadillo had two goals for USC while Brian Bacharach had two for Cal. Cal finishes the season at 31-4 while USC falls to 26-2.

Both teams held leads of two goals just to see the other team tie it. USC's lead came with 1:59 remaining in the second quarter after a penalty shot goal from Gabor Sarusi. His goal made it 4-2 and it would stay that way into half. Cal would then score four straight goals to take their two-goal lead at 6-4.

The Trojans did not go away. J.W. Krumpholz cut the lead to 6-5 when he scored with 2:40 remaining. The Trojans had three extra-man opportunities in the final 2:22. They broke through on the third with Hale's game-tying goal with just two seconds remaining.

Cal called their final timeout to set-up the offense. Spencer Warden took the entry pass and fed it to Tyrrell at about 10 meters. Tyrrell wasted no time and let go of a shot that was partially deflected by a USC defender and into the top-right corner for the jaw-dropping winner.

"It was a fun match to watch; our guys played so hard," Everist said. "It was our defense that did it. We talk about defense all of the time. We were able to outscore them 5-2 in the second half. They were 2-for-11 in 6-on-5 situations; that shows we had some pretty special D."

Cal goalie Mark Sheredy came up big for the Bears. With a 5-4 lead, Sheredy stopped a penalty shot by Hale with 6:10 remaining. After Frank Reynolds scored on a 6-on-5 with 4:20 remaining, Sheredy came up big with another save on Hale in front of the net with 3:41 remaining. Sheredy finished with 12 saves.

Sheredy's performance lifted the junior to MVP honors of the 2006 NCAA Championship.

"Our five seniors taught this team how to be a team," Everist said. "They have done a great job of restoring the Cal tradition. I am so proud of these guys and now they know what it feels like to have that championship ring."

2006 NCAA All-Tournament Team
First Team
Mark Sheredy - Cal (MVP/Goalie)
Juan Delgadillo - USC
Thomas Hale - USC
John Mann - Cal
Brian Kinsel - Cal
Tommy Corcoran - USC
Andrija Vasiljevic - Cal

Second Team
Adam Shilling - USC (Goalie)
Jesse Casellini - UC San Diego
Aaron Recko - Navy
Ty Lackey - UC San Diego
Pavol Valovic - USC
Brian Bacharach - Cal
Marty Matthies - Cal

TEAMS 1 2 3 4 - F RECORDS
#2 Cal 1 1 3 2 - 7 31-4
#1 USC 1 3 0 2 - 6 26-2
Cal Goals: Brian Bacharach 2, Marty Matthies 1,
Spencer Warden 1, John Mann 1, Frank Reynolds 1,
Jeff Tyrrell 1.
USC Goals: Juan Delgadillo 2, Tommy Corcoran 1,
Gabor Sarusi 1, J.W. Krumpholz 1, Thomas Hale 1
Saves:Mark Sheredy (Cal) 12; Adam Shilling (USC) 7.

Scoring Summary:
First Quarter:
4:16 - USC - #6 Juan Delgadillo
2:48 - Cal - #3 Brian Bacharach

Second Quarter:
6:58 - USC - #20 Tommy Corcoran - Extra Man
5:40 - Cal - #3 Brian Bacharach - Penalty Shot
2:39 - USC - #6 Juan Delgadillo
1:59 - USC - #7 Gabor Sarusi - Penalty Shot

Third Quarter:
4:30 - Cal - #13 Marty Matthies
2:18 - Cal - #12 Spencer Warden - Extra Man
0:52 - Cal - #4 John Mann

Fourth Quarter:
4:20 - Cal - #10 Frank Reynolds - Extra Man
2:40 - USC - #3 J.W. Krumpholz
0:01.78 - USC - #2 Thomas Hale - Extra Man
0:00.1 - Cal - #14 Jeff Tyrrell