No. 4 Cal Downs No. 10 Pacific In Home Opener 18-7

Friday, September 11

7:00 PM PT

California

5-0

Pacific

3-3

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Pacific	3	1	2	1	7
California	4	5	2	7	18

Photo by: Darrell Lavin

9/11/2026 10:06 PM | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

7 Bears Turn In Multi-Goal Performances

By: Cal Athletics

BERKELEY - The No. 4 California men's water polo team opened up its home schedule with a commanding 18-7 victory over No. 10 Pacific on Friday at Spieker Aquatics Complex.

A season high 10 Golden Bears chipped in on the scoresheet with seven turning in multi-goal efforts. Cal (5-0) was led by sophomore Milan Sumich who went a perfect 3-for-3 to record his first career hat trick. On the defensive end Aran Pina made his debut in the cage after missing the first four games due to international play with the Spain U-20 national team and collected six saves and a steal.

It took all of 18 seconds for junior Patrik Kolak to become the first scorer at Spieker this year netting his first of two goals on a pass in from sophomore Beso Akhvlediani who ended the night with a pair of goals and assists as well. After the Tigers (3-3) tied it with a goal two minutes into the contest the Bears quickly extended their lead to 4-1, but UOP netted a pair to cut the deficit to one by the first quarter's end.

Cal created some distance in the second period scoring four straight goals, including two by junior Alex Oprea, to take an 8-3 lead and ended the first half up 9-4.

After a quiet, even third period that saw both teams score two goals apiece, the Bears put on an offensive showcase in the final quarter scoring seven goals to the Tigers' one. Sophomore Tomas Perrone, who played alongside Pina and Team Spain in both the U20 European Water Polo Championships and the Mediterranean Games made his debut and scored goals on back-to-back possessions. Sumich ended the contest strongly finding all three of his goals in the final five minutes.

The Bears will conclude the weekend on the road at No. 6 UC Davis on Sunday at 12 p.m. on ESPN+.

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