April 24, 2006

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BERKELEY, Calif. -

UP NEXT:
11 a.m. on Sunday, April 30, vs	Oregon in Eugene, Ore.

BEARS TAKE FIRST OF TWO TRIPS TO EUGENE
The California lacrosse team (6-9, 3-1 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) heads to Eugene, Ore., to take on Oregon (8-7, 2-2 MPSF) in a key MPSF matchup at 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 30, in the Golden Bears' final game before the May 5-7 MPSF Championship also in Eugene.

Cal has a 1-0 record against the second-year Ducks program, after beating Oregon, 19-8, on April 24, 2005, in Berkeley. Leanne Zilioli, Brittany Aungier and Molly Brady each scored three goals and one assist in that game for the Golden Bears.

If Cal wins this year's battle with the Ducks, the Bears would own the third seed in the conference tournament. Cal would then play sixth-seeded and last-place UC Davis (7-8, 0-5) in a May 5 MPSF quarterfinal. If Cal loses to Oregon, the Ducks would be the third seed and Cal would be fourth, meaning the Bears would play fifth-seeded Saint Mary's (4-11, 1-4) on May 5. This season, Cal beat UC Davis, 12-9, last Saturday in Davis, and beat Saint Mary's, 19-7, on April 6 in Berkeley.

Junior midfielder Laura Cavallo leads Cal in scoring with 37 points (27 goals, 10 assists), in goals and in draw controls (37). Junior attacker Liz Reifsnyder is Cal's second-leading scorer with 36 points (24, 12), leads the Bears in assists and is tied for the team lead in ground balls with sophomore midfielder Cristen Andrews (28 each). Sophomore midfielder Danni Zuralow is Cal's third-leading scorer with 26 points (20, 6) and Zilioli, a senior midfielder, is fourth with 22 points (17, 5). Leading the way with 12 caused turnovers is junior goalkeeper Hilary Lynch, who also has a 13.14 goals-against average, a .453 save percentage and one assist this season.

WATCH THE OREGON GAME ON THE O-ZONE
This Sunday's Cal game will be broadcast live on a pay-per-view basis on the Oregon Web site, via the Oregon O-Zone, the official online media streaming site of the University of Oregon, for a one-time fee of $7.95. For more information, please visit the Ducks' Web site at http://www.goducks.com/reg2/Start.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500.

The game will also be broadcast on local cable television on Comcast 14, which is part of the Oregon Sports Network.

LAST TIME OUT
Junior midfielder Laura Cavallo led California past UC Davis, 12-9, with a game-high six points and four goals in the Golden Bears' MPSF victory over the Aggies on Saturday. Cal junior goalkeeper Hilary Lynch made 11 saves and tallied her first career assist, as the Bears improved their record to 6-9 (3-1 MPSF). UC Davis fell to 7-8 (0-5).

Cavallo also snared a game-high five draw controls for the Bears, who had a 14-9 edge in draw controls for the game. The two teams tied with 28 ground balls each.

Katie McMahon and Megan O'Connor each had three goals and one assist to lead the Aggies.

Cal junior attacker Liz Reifsnyder added two goals and an assist. Lynch set up the gamewinning goal by freshman teammate Madeleine Dale, who scored at 39:15 to give Cal a 10-5 lead.

"Hilary had a great game, making some great saves when they were trying to come back," Cal head coach Jill Malko said. Of Lynch's assist, Malko added, "It was crazy. She cleared it about 60 yards. It was unbelievable. It's very unusual and rare for that to happen."

In the first half, Davis took a 4-1 lead against the Bears at 20:35, as McMahon scored her team's first and fourth goals of the game. Junior midfielder Jocelyn Paul, off an assist by Cavallo, was the only Bear to score in that stretch.

But Cal rebounded to outscore the Aggies, 4-0, the rest of the first half on goals by four different players: sophomore Danni Zuralow, Reifsnyder, Paul and Cavallo. Cal took a 5-4 lead into the break.

The Bears quickly added to their lead in the second half, as Reifsnyder won the opening draw and dished to Cavallo for a goal just 10 seconds into the final stanza. The Bears went on a 6-1 run to open the second half. Overall, Cal had a 10-1 run that started with Zuralow's goal at the 22:05 mark of the first half. Cavallo's final goal capped that run at 39:28 in the second half, and Cal led, 11-5. In a game of runs, Davis outscored the Bears, 4-1, in the last 14:59 of the game. Eri Ichikawa scored at 59:49 to get Davis to within three goals at 12-9, but Reifsnyder won the final draw control and the Bears held on to the victory.

SCOUTING THE DUCKS
Oregon, which has a 8-7 overall record (2-2 MPSF), continues to be a strong offensive team in its second year of existence. The Ducks, who haven't played since losing to Boston University, 19-8, on April 15 at Boston's Nickerson Field, have already scored 179 goals, 92 assists and 271 points through 15 games in 2006. In 2005, Oregon scored 183 goals, 86 assists and 269 points through a full season of 17 games. By comparison, Cal has scored 136 goals, 45 assists and 181 points through 15 games in 2006.

Redshirt freshman attacker Alison Leiner leads Oregon in scoring with 48 points (19 goals, 29 assists) and is followed by freshman attacker Ilsa van den berg with 40 points (30, 10), sophomore midfielder Jen May with 37 points (23, 14) and sophomore attacker Bradley with 32 points (25, 7). Bradley (2 goals, 1 assist) and sophomore attacker Lindsay Killian (3 goals) led Oregon with three points each against Boston. Sophomore midfielder Carrie Bateman leads Oregon in ground balls (52) and caused turnovers (30), while Leiner also leads the Ducks in draw controls (30). Oregon redshirt freshman goalkeeper Anna Poponyak has a 12.62 GAA in 15 starts.

Jen Larsen (Virginia '96) is in her second year as Oregon's head coach.