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Sept. 22, 1997

Cal (3-3-1) to Face No. 1 North Carolina and No. 20 UMass in Texas

This Week:   
Fri. Sept. 26   North Carolina, Houston, Texas  1:30 p.m. CT
Sun. Sept. 28   Massachusetts, Dallas, Texas    12:00 Noon CT

On Tap: Things dont get any easier for the Cal womens soccer team (3-3-1) this week. Coming off a 2-1 loss to fourth-ranked Santa Clara yesterday, the Bears travel to Texas this week for a pair of neutral site matches. Friday, Sept. 26, Cal will take on the nations top-ranked team, defending national champions North Carolina, in Houston. Then, on Sunday, Sept. 28, the Bears will meet 20th-ranked Massachusetts in Dallas.

About The Opponents: Fridays match versus No. 1 North Carolina will be the eighth meeting between the Bears and Tarheals with UNC winning the previous seven. The two squads last paired-off in 1994 with North Carolina blanking Cal, 7-0. Possibly the most dominant team in the nation today, the defending national champion Tarheals enter Fridays match against Cal with a 7-0-1 record . The Tarheals are scoring an average of almost five goals a game and have outscored opponents by a 39-3 margin. Sundays match features another ranked foe in 20th-ranked Massachusetts. The Minutewomen are currently 6-0 on the season and hold a 3-0-2 advantage over the Bears in a five game series that dates back to 1983. Cal last met UMass in 1991, falling to the Minutewomen by a score of 3-1.

Rewind: Last week, Cal closed a three game home stand at Witter field with a 2-1 loss to fifth-ranked Santa Clara. The loss broke the Bears two-game winning streak and dropped Cals overall record to 3-3-1 on the season. Cal got the scoring started only three minutes into the match when Gretchen Vanderlip (Clayton Valley) found Kim Brown (Berkeley) for the games opening goal. Brown took the pass and maneuvered through the Bronco defense, unleashing a shot from the top of the box that beat Santa Clara goalkeeper Crystal Gordon for the 1-0 Cal lead. The goal, Browns third of the year, was the fastest scored by the Bears this season. Despite being outshot in the first half by a nine-to-three margin, the Bears were able to hold off the Broncos behind spectacular goalkeeping by Jill Stephenson (San Diego) until the games 34th minute when Santa Claras Amanda Clemens won a free ball at the top of the penalty box and scored the equalizer. In the second half each team would register four shots as the action flowed from end-to-end. The Broncos finally took the lead at the 78-minute mark when Stephenson strayed from her line to clear a deep pass. Santa Claras Rachel Weber stole the ball from the Cal goalkeeper and deposited the game-winner in the back of the net.

Cal Continues Youth Movement: With only six upper-classmen two seniors and four juniors listed among its 25 players, Cal is fielding its youngest team since the 1991 season. The 91 Bears, who also had just six upperclassmen, posted a 9-8 overall record. Against Santa Clara on Sunday, four sophomores and three freshmen were among Cals starting 11 with two freshmen and two sophomores comprising four of the six subs used in the match. Additionally, five of Cals top six scorers are also underclassmen: sophomores Brown, Amy Balavac (San Jose) and Stacey Mallison (Los Gatos) and freshmen Natalie Stuhlmueller (Los Gatos) and Vanderlip.

Brown Fired-Up: Team co-captain, Kim Brown continued to be Cals main offensive weapon this week, scoring the Bears lone goal in Cals only game of the week, a 2-1 loss to fourth-ranked Santa Clara. Moved from outside-mid to center-mid this two weeks ago, the sophomore from Berkeley, Calif., continued her hot play versus the Broncos. She not only has scored a goal in each of the last two games, but she also leads the Bears in shots taken with seven. Brown appeared in 15 matches and was one of the Bears co-leading scorers, recording a total of 14 points on six goals and two assists, last season. She also earned All-Pac-10 second team as well as SoccerBuzz All-Freshman West first team honors following the 1996 campaign. This season she has already notched three goals and two assists and appears to be well on her way to eclipsing last years scoring totals.

Bear Notes: The Cal offense continues to be balanced this season with seven Bears having tallied at least one goal apiece ... despite being outshot by No. 4 Santa Clara, 13-8, on Sunday, the Bears have still taken more shots than 4-of-6 foes, 103 compared to 66 ... more evidence that the Bears are pushing the attack: Cal has also taken more than twice the number of corner kicks of its opponents, 39 compared to 19.

Head Coach Kevin Boyd: The 1997 season is head coach Kevin Boyd's first at the controls of the Cal women's soccer program. Named Cal's seventh head coach on May 20, Boyd spent last season as the Bears assistant coach. He helped guide the Bears to their best record of the 90s in terms of wins 13-3-2 overall (5-2 Pac-10, second place). He is aided by two former Golden Bears: assistant coach Katharin Roth (Cal 86) and goalkeeper coach Duncan Lyons (Cal 89), who played for the mens soccer program during the 1988 and 89 seasons.