BERKELEY, Calif. — The visiting Rams of No. 5-ranked Fordham University gave the Golden Bears of host/No. 1 the University of California all they could handle by scoring three times in the final two minutes of regulation – including the tying goal at the buzzer – to force overtime where Cal outscored the visitors by a goal for a 20-19 win at the Spieker Aquatics Complex.
The loss snaps a 14-game winning streak for Fordham as the Rams fall to 23-2 on the season while Cal improves to 15-4.
Junior Andras Toth, who tied the game with one second left in regulation, led the Rams with five goals and one assist. Freshman Oktavian Veklyuk added three goals and six assists and senior Barnabas Eppel, sophomore Alessandro Salipante and freshmen Vuk Kojic each added a pair of goals.
Fordham took a one-goal lead, 9-8, at the half, thanks to a Karlo Dragosevic goal with 1:28 left in the second quarter.
The Rams trailed 11-10 after three quarters and were down 16-13 with just over two minutes left. A Veklyuk block on the defensive end led to his goal at the other end of the pool to pull the Rams within one, 16-15, in the final minute.
Luca Provenziani set up the game-tying tally with a steal and he fed Toth who scored just before the buzzer.
The Rams took a 17-16 lead in the final minute of the first overtime before Cal tied it with 16 seconds remaining.
In the second overtime, Cal took a two-goal lead, 20-18, with 40 seconds left before Toth scored his fifth of the game with 20 seconds on the clock for the 20-19 final.
The game continued a trend in 2026 for Fordham as the team’s only other loss came at the hands of then No. 1 the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) back on September 25 in Los Angeles. Further, the last two matches between Fordham and Cal have ended in one-goal results with the Golden Bears picking up a 15-14 victory last year in Berkeley.
Information courtesy Fordham University Athletics Communications
