April 13, 2010

Complete Release in PDF Format

This Week
California returns to the East Coast to take on Albany at 1 p.m. PT on Friday, April 16, and Vermont at 9 a.m. PT on Sunday, April 18, in a pair of nonconference games. The Golden Bears have a 4-8 record, while Albany stands at 9-2 and Vermont holds a 3-8 record.

The Bears have a 1-0 record in the brief series with Albany, which lost, 14-9, in Berkeley in 2009. Cal is 0-1 in the short series with Vermont, which won, 15-11, last year at Memorial Stadium.

Scouting the Golden Bears
Cal is coming off its first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation win of the season, a 12-5 road victory on April 9 at Oregon. Sophomore midfielder Vail Horn, Cal's third-leading scorer with 23 points, scored a game-high four goals against the Ducks.

Sophomore attacker Allie Welsh paces the Bears in points (30) and assists (14). She also has 16 goals. Senior midfielder Alyse Kennedy leads Cal in goals (24) and draw controls (22) and ranks second in points (29). Kennedy has also collected five assists. Junior goalkeeper Allie Shropshire tops Cal in ground balls (40) and has compiled a 12.02 goals-against average in 12 starts.

Former Princeton All-American and NCAA champion Theresa Sherry is in her third season as head coach at Cal.

Scouting the Great Danes
Albany had its nine-game winning streak snapped by Lehigh in a 17-14 nonconference loss on April 12. Among the results during the streak were an 11-10 win over Denver, Cal's fellow MPSF team, and an 18-5 victory over Vermont.

Junior midfielder Taylor Frink paces Albany in points (43) and assists (16) and is tied for second in goals (27). Senior midfielder Kayla Best ranks right behind Frink in points (36) and leads her team in goals (33). Junior midfielder Nikki Branchini leads Albany in a trio of categories: draw controls (55), ground balls (32) and caused turnovers (20). Senior goalie Ashley Ross has a 7.32 GAA in 11 starts.

Lindsey Hart is in her fifth season as the Great Danes' head coach.

Scouting the Catamounts
Vermont hosts Le Moyne on Wednesday, April 14, before hosting Cal on April 18. The Catamounts' last result, a 22-14 home win over Binghamton on April 10, snapped a four-game losing streak.

Sophomore midfielder/attacker Samantha Stern leads Vermont in points (28) and goals (23), while junior midfielder Megan MacDonald, the team's second leading scorer with 26 points, paces Vermont in assists with 11. Vermont has used three goalkeepers this season, but sophomore Laura Barber has played every minute of the last six games and has a 13.17 GAA.

Jen Johnson is in her sixth season as Vermont's head coach. Former Cal assistant coach Jen Nardi is in her third year as an assistant at Vermont.

Next Week
Cal returns to MPSF action when it plays at Saint Mary's on April 23 and hosts Fresno State on April 25 in the Bears' final game before the April 29-May 2 MPSF Tournament at Denver.