November 28, 2006

Berkeley, CA (CSTV U-WIRE) -- Based on the obvious statistic-number of goals-it would seem that John Mann, the leading scorer of the No. 2 Cal men's water polo team, was not the 2.5-goals-per-game player Sunday that the Bears have known him to be.

Netting just one goal in Cal's 6-5 win over No. 1 USC that sent the Bears to Saturday's NCAA tournament, Mann proved that helping a team to victory can be done in more ways than just doing all the scoring.

With the score tied 5-5 with just a little over a minute left in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title match against the Trojans, Mann drew a key penalty on Tommy Corcoran at the two-meter position, granting Cal a chance at the go-ahead penalty shot. But instead of taking the shot and all of its ensuing glory, Mann called upon Jeff Tyrrell to take it in his place.

"Usually my legs are tired (after drawing a penalty)," Mann said. "I want to take the shot, but I'm not completely fresh or rested."

Mann's call was right on, and with 1:12 left in the game, Tyrrell scored the winning goal.

"It's really sweet to be able to trust all the guys," Mann said. "That's how deep our team is."

It was Mann's selfless leadership that the Bears needed to snap the Trojans' winning streak at 44. Although he did not raise his goals-per-game average or take the game-winning shot, none of that mattered to Mann.

"I'm just really excited to get our first MPSF championship game," Mann said.

Mann may be the first Cal player to win the Peter J. Cutino Award, given to the best all-around player in the nation. His status as the second-leading scorer in the nation already makes him a very probable candidate.

But despite the hype of possibly getting the most prestigious award in collegiate water polo, Mann only has one thing left on his agenda-win the NCAA championship.

"If anything, (the award) would just be a product of the season," Mann said. "It would be a huge honor, especially to be the first Cal guy to get it, but we just have to take care of business and continue winning."

Selflessness does not stop with Mann. Sunday, he and senior Brian Kinsel both drew three ejections to give the Bears more offensive opportunities on power plays. Kinsel ended the game scoreless, so he may not have gotten visible credit, but it didn't appear to affect him.

"We have a deep team, so not everyone gets a lot of minutes," Cal coach Kirk Everist said. "But everyone supports the rest of the guys in the water, and they're happy with whatever success."

This will be the first trip to NCAAs for all of the players on the current team. The last time the Bears competed for the national title was in 2002, and the last time Cal won was in 1992.

"The NCAAs and the Olympics are the two biggest accomplishments in this sport," Mann said. "It's a huge deal for us. We're really hungry for that NCAA title."

(C) 2006 Daily Californian via CSTV U-WIRE