Cal Men's Water Polo Team Scores 100 Goals in 1st Four Matches

The third-ranked Cal men’s water polo team prepped for a home weekend of international competition at Spieker Aquatics Complex by unleashing 100 goals in four victories at the Rare Air Challenge at Colorado Springs, Colo.

In their first action of the season, the Bears crushed four overmatched opponents by a combined margin of 100-19 in a two-day event hosted by the Air Force Academy.

Cal beat beat University of Redlands 21-4 and Air Force 25-10 on Saturday and Salem 27-2 and Mount St. Mary’s 27-3 on Sunday. 

The Bears’ 100 goals was the most they’ve scored over their first four games of a season since posting 102 goals 2022, the year they won the second of three consecutive NCAA titles.

Cal opens its home schedule this weekend with the Golden Bear Invitational. The Bears will face CN Marseille of France on Friday at 7 p.m., then CN Atlètic-Barceloneta of Spain on Saturday at 10:30 a.m., prior to Cal’s home football game vs. Texas Southern at 3 p.m.

The Bears got significant contributions from a range of players in Colorado.

William Kelly, a senior attacker from Laguna Beach, Calif., had 13 goals and two assists, including five goals vs. Salem. Chase Wilson, a junior center from New York, also totaled 13 goals, with five goals vs. Salem and four against Mount St. Mary’s.

Beso Akhvlediani, a freshman center from Tbilisi, Georgia, saw action in three of four games, racking up 11 goals and two assists, with six of those goals vs. Mount St. Mary’s. 

Another freshman, Tomas Perrone, an attacker from Barcelona, Spain, had 10 goals and six assists. He scored four goals against Redlands.

Patrick Kolak, a sophomore utility player from Dubrovnik, Croatia, scored five times vs. Redlands and finished the weekend with seven goals and six assists. Redshirt junior center Dominic Brown of nearby Concord scored nine goals including three each vs. Air Force and Salem.

Freshman goalkeeper Aran Pina, from the Sant Cugat del Vallès sports school in Spain limited three of the Bears’ four opponents to four goals or fewer.

UCLA was unanimously voted No. 1 in the preseason national poll with USC at No. 2. Cal was tied for third with Fordham and Stanford.