California Golden Bears Athletics
Saturday, October 17
1:00 PM PT
California
10-4
12
vs
8
Stanford
13-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| California | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 12 |
Photo by: Emi Segovia/Cal Athletics
No. 4 Cal Downs No. 1 Stanford 12-8
10/17/2026 4:38 PM | Men's Water Polo
Bears Lead Wire-To-Wire For Big Splash Win
BERKELEY – The first edition of the 2026 Big Splash was everything the Golden Bears hoped for as the No. 4 California men's water polo team took down No. 1 Stanford 12-8 Saturday in front of a sell-out crowd at Spieker Aquatics Complex.
Nearly two years to the date that Cal last defeated the nation's top-ranked team, which was also a home win over the Cardinal, the Bears (10-4, 1-2 MPSF) pulled it off again leading wire-to-wire to earn their first MPSF West game of the year and protect their undefeated 3-0 home record. It was just the second loss of the season for Stanford (13-2, 2-1 MPSF) which was held to single-digit scoring for the first time this year.
It was all Bears from the jump who opened the contest on a 3-0 run and nearly blanked the Cardinal in the first quarter until Stanford got on the board with a penalty goal with one second remaining. Cal kept the pressure on in the second period scoring another trio of goals to take a commanding 6-1 lead with six different Bears finding the net. It wasn't until the 2:41 mark that the Cardinal got its first natural goal of the afternoon and then finished with another penalty score to cut the lead to 6-3 at the half.
The two teams traded punches defensively in the third period, which saw just three combined goals. Sophomore Beso Akhvlediani netted both for the Bears on his way to a four-goal, three-assist day while Stanford was limited to just one giving Cal an 8-4 lead.
Sophomore Tomas Perrone secured a hat trick thanks to a two-goal fourth quarter which he paired with a steal and a field block. The lead grew to as much as 10-5 before Stanford had to pull its goalkeeper to give its team the advantage in the scoring half but the effort came too late as the Bears had already secured their biggest win of the season.
Sophomore goalkeeper Aran Pina had a standout afternoon with 12 saves, a steal, a drawn exclusion, and just eight goals allowed. He came up clutch time and time again with huge stops in crucial moments allowing just five goals to be scored in the run of play.
Cal's centers once again were key in the team's success drawing a combined five exclusions and scoring a goal each. Akhvlediani also drew three of the 10 exclusions earned by the Bears.
Cal now has a quick turnaround with hosting Princeton on Wednesday and Pepperdine on Friday at Spieker Aquatics Complex.
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal men's water polo, follow the Bears on X (@CalWaterPolo) and Instagram (@calmwaterpolo).
Nearly two years to the date that Cal last defeated the nation's top-ranked team, which was also a home win over the Cardinal, the Bears (10-4, 1-2 MPSF) pulled it off again leading wire-to-wire to earn their first MPSF West game of the year and protect their undefeated 3-0 home record. It was just the second loss of the season for Stanford (13-2, 2-1 MPSF) which was held to single-digit scoring for the first time this year.
It was all Bears from the jump who opened the contest on a 3-0 run and nearly blanked the Cardinal in the first quarter until Stanford got on the board with a penalty goal with one second remaining. Cal kept the pressure on in the second period scoring another trio of goals to take a commanding 6-1 lead with six different Bears finding the net. It wasn't until the 2:41 mark that the Cardinal got its first natural goal of the afternoon and then finished with another penalty score to cut the lead to 6-3 at the half.
The two teams traded punches defensively in the third period, which saw just three combined goals. Sophomore Beso Akhvlediani netted both for the Bears on his way to a four-goal, three-assist day while Stanford was limited to just one giving Cal an 8-4 lead.
Sophomore Tomas Perrone secured a hat trick thanks to a two-goal fourth quarter which he paired with a steal and a field block. The lead grew to as much as 10-5 before Stanford had to pull its goalkeeper to give its team the advantage in the scoring half but the effort came too late as the Bears had already secured their biggest win of the season.
Sophomore goalkeeper Aran Pina had a standout afternoon with 12 saves, a steal, a drawn exclusion, and just eight goals allowed. He came up clutch time and time again with huge stops in crucial moments allowing just five goals to be scored in the run of play.
Cal's centers once again were key in the team's success drawing a combined five exclusions and scoring a goal each. Akhvlediani also drew three of the 10 exclusions earned by the Bears.
Cal now has a quick turnaround with hosting Princeton on Wednesday and Pepperdine on Friday at Spieker Aquatics Complex.
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal men's water polo, follow the Bears on X (@CalWaterPolo) and Instagram (@calmwaterpolo).
Players Mentioned
ATT
/ Men's Water Polo
ATT
/ Men's Water PoloGK
/ Men's Water PoloTeam Stats
STAN
CAL
Shots
22
33
Goals
7
12
Assists
5
8
Points
12
20
Exclusions
9
6
Steals
3
5
Sprints
4
0
1
Loui Schuler
5:21
Maddox Arlett
2:54
Beso Akhvlediani
0:15
Ben Forer
0:00
2
Dom Brown
7:27
Tomas Perrone
4:40
Kai Inoue
3:11
Gavin West
2:41
Botond Balogh
0:00
3
Beso Akhvlediani
6:07
Dimitris Chatzis
0:49
Beso Akhvlediani
0:23
4
Guido Leonardi
6:39
Tomas Perrone
5:19
Tomas Perrone
1:40
Team
1:29
Ilias Angelopoulos
1:04
Ben Forer
0:36
Beso Akhvlediani
0:12
Dimitris Chatzis
0:01
Game Leaders
Shots
10
Goals
4
Assists
3
Points
7
Shots
4
Goals
3
Assists
0
Points
3
Shots
3
Goals
1
Assists
1
Points
2
Shots
3
Goals
1
Assists
0
Points
1
Thursday, October 05
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