April 17, 2012

Friday, April 20
5 p.m. - Stanford (4-9, 2-2 MPSF) at Cal (8-6, 4-2 MPSF)
Witter Rugby Field - Berkeley, Calif.
Series Record vs. the Cardinal: 6-23
Last Meeting with Stanford: L 19-11 (4/29/11 in Stanford, Calif.)
Coverage: GameTracker, Twitter

Cal Lacrosse Weekly Release

BERKELEY - With a berth to the MPSF Tournament possibly on the line, California hosts Stanford in the regular-season finale at 5 p.m. on Friday at Witter Rugby Field. The Golden Bears (8-6, 4-2 in the MPSF) and Cardinal (4-9, 2-2 MPSF) are both vying for spots in the four-team conference tournament, whose champion hosts an NCAA Tournament play-in game vs. the Patriot League Champion at 1 p.m. on May 5. Cal will also honor its four seniors - Emily Abbood, Tara Arolla, Tori Harrison and Vail Horn - prior to the match as part of Senior Day.

If Stanford defeats UC Davis - which currently has a 2-3 MPSF record - on Wednesday, April 18, then both Cal and the Cardinal would claim MPSF Tournament berths. If the Aggies beat Stanford and, on April 21, defeats Fresno State, and the Cardinal defeats Cal and, on April 22, beats Saint Mary's, then the Bears, Stanford and Davis will wind up with identical 4-3 MPSF records. The league's third tiebreaker - goal differential in games among the tied teams - could come into play, and Cal could lose out. If, however, only Cal and Davis tie with 4-3 MPSF records, Cal's head-to-head win over the Aggies would give the Bears the edge.

Denver and Oregon - which are tied at 6-0 atop the MPSF standings - have already clinched conference tournament spots.

Cal won the inaugural MPSF Tournament championship in 2004, when it edged Stanford, 11-10, in Denver. The Cardinal has won seven straight conference tournament titles.

The Bears' record in the all-time series with Stanford is 6-23, including two losses - 19-11 in the regular season and 20-11 in the MPSF final - to the nationally ranked Cardinal last season.

Scouting the Golden Bears
• Junior attacker Megan Takacs continues to lead the nation in goals per game (4.08) as well as lead Cal in goals (53), points (60), game-winning goals (4) and draw controls (63)
• In the 15-12 win at Vermont on April 12, Takacs scored four goals to set Cal's single-season goalscoring record (53), after sharing the previous record of 49 with former Bear Sarah Wheatley
• With her eight shots in that game, Takacs also set a school single-season record with 106 shots
• Takacs tallied one assist against the Catamounts and now ranks fifth on Cal's single-season points list (60)
• Melissa Humphrey is also climbing the school's record ladder - the junior attacker has 35 assists on the season and sits in second place on Cal's all-time single-season assist list; she's six shy of tying Colleen O'Mara's 2004 record of 41
• Humphrey collected four assists vs. Vermont and one in a 16-6 loss at No. 20 Boston College on April 14
• With 55 points this year, Humphrey ranks seventh on Cal's all-time single-season points list
• Senior midfielder Emily Abbood leads Cal with 23 ground balls and is second on the squad with 39 draws
• Sophomore goalkeeper Megan McGinnis has compiled a goals-against average of 10.82, which is Cal's lowest single-season GAA by a starting goalie since Hilary Lynch put together a 9.64 GAA in 2007; Allie Shropshire had a 10.83 GAA in 2010
• As a team, Cal ranks 14th in draw controls per game (14.36), tied for 21st in scoring offense (13 goals per game), 26th in scoring margin (+2.21 goals) and 28th in points (249)
• Ginger Miles is in her first season as Cal's head coach

Scouting the Cardinal
• Senior midfielder Emilie Boeri leads Stanford in goals (27), assists (18) and points (45)
• Senior defender Catherine Swanson paces the Cardinal with 35 draws
• Junior defender Elizabeth Adam has a team-best 23 ground balls
• Sophomore goalie Lyndsey Munoz has played every minute in goal and has a 12.62 GAA
• Stanford won its last game - a 17-11 MPSF match against first-year San Diego State, in which Munoz made seven saves and freshman midfielder Emily Newstrom and sophomore midfielder Anna Kim tied for Cardinal-high scoring honors (4 goals apiece)
• Amy Bokker is in her third year as head coach of Stanford

Next Time
If Cal qualifies for the MPSF Tournament, the Bears will play their next game in the conference semifinals on April 27 in Stanford, Calif. The conference championship game is slated for April 29.