 "Photo: Jeffrey Long | Daily Trojan")
In the biggest game of the year, USC was only inches away from coming out on top.
The Trojans had multiple scoring opportunities but were denied by both man and metal, falling in the national title game to Cal for the second consecutive year, 8-6.
USC hit the post four times and could not solve Bears goalie Mark Sheredy, who recorded 11 saves, including one on a 5-meter penalty shot by Gabor Sarusi late in the third quarter, with the Trojans trailing by a goal.
"[Cal] did a good job scoring when they needed to score, but overall I felt that we had our opportunities. We missed a penalty and a couple of extra-man opportunities, and [Cal] converted theirs," Coach Jovan Vavic said.
Neither team had the upper hand in the first quarter. Cal scored first, but the Trojans answered back on a goal by Jovan Vranes from 5 meters out.
Early in the second quarter, J.W. Krumpholz overpowered Cal's defense with a 2-meter strike, but it was the last time the the Trojans held the lead.
Cal answered back with a flurry of goals, scoring three consecutive times to grab a 4-2 lead. The Trojans, however, would not be denied. Drew Vyn capitalized on one of USC's many 6-on-5 situations to cut the deficit in half, and minutes later Tommy Corcoran rattled home a score from 2 meters to even the score at 4-4 heading into the half.
USC nearly grabbed the lead in the final minute of the half, but a lob by Devon Borisoff rattled off the post - an occurrence that seemed all-too-familiar to the Trojans in Sunday's game.
The teams opened the third quarter by trading defensive stands before the Bears converted on a 6-on-5 opportunity.
The Trojans then earned a 5-meter penalty after a battle in front of the net, but Sheredy was equal to the task, robbing Sarusi and keeping the Bears in front.
USC, however, continued to pressure Cal deep in its own zone.
Yet the combination of Sheredy and the goal cage kept the Trojans off the scoreboard and secured the national title for Cal.
The Trojans had three opportunities at the end of the third quarter that were denied by a pair of Sheredy saves and the crossbar.
The Bears scored at the start of the fourth to open a two-goal lead, but the Trojans kept themselves within striking distance after Sarusi converted a 6-on-5 situation to cut the deficit to one.
It seemed as if the Trojans were on the cusp of tying the game, but they could not convert. Two more USC scoring attempts hit the bar, and Cal added two more goals to ice the game.
J.W. Krumpholz added his second of the game with less than 30 seconds to play, but it was too little, too late for the Trojans.
With the victory, the Bears earned their NCAA record 13th national championship in water polo.
It was also the fourth time the Trojans and Bears have met in the national title game and the Bears have now won all four of those games.
