Aug. 14, 2012
Friday, Aug. 17
5:30 p.m. - Cal at Pacific
Knoles Field - Stockton, Calif.
All-Time Record vs. the Tigers - 5-1-1
Last Time Meeting With UOP - T 1-1 (2OT) on 9/9/10
Coverage: Twitter, Live Stats, Free Live Streaming
Sunday, Aug. 18
2 p.m. - Cal vs. San Jose State
Edwards Stadium - Berkeley
All-Time Record vs. the Spartans - 4-0-0
Last Meeting With SJSU - W 3-1 on 8/24/08
Coverage: Twitter, GameTracker
Tickets: Adults $8, Senior $4, Youth/Students Free
BERKELEY - The road to San Diego for the College Cup for officially kicks off Friday, Aug. 17 for the California women's soccer team. The Golden Bears kick off their 2012 campaign in Stockton at 5:30 p.m. against Pacific. The home slate starts Aug. 18 at 2 p.m. versus San Jose State.
International Golden Bears
Returning to Berkeley freshly off the international pitch are senior midfielder Betsy Hassett and junior defender Ariana Martinez. After playing in last summer's FIFA World Cup, Hassett rejoined the New Zealand National Team for the London Olympics. Last season in Berkeley, Hassett played in all 22 matches with 18 starts in the midfield and was a second-Team All-Pac-12 selection. Martinez - who is also a member of the Mexican Senior National Team - participated in this summer's U-20 World Cup in Japan as part of the Mexican squad. Martinez transferred to Cal from UCLA and will have two years of eligibility left in Berkeley.
Profiling Pacific
• In Cal and UOP's most recent meeting - Sept. 19, 2010 - the two teams tied 1-1 in double overtime
• After Pacific scored in the 39th, the Bears scored with 3:06 remaining in regulation to force overtime
• Cal holds the all-time series record with the Tigers at 5-1-1
• In their first match in the newly opened Knoles Soccer Field, the Tigers battled to a 1-1 draw with Sac State on Aug. 10
• Scoring in UOP's lone exhibition was Mirella Mattos, who knotted the game in the 54th minute
• Junior Brittni Beeman merited placement on the Big West Preseason All-Conference Team
• The Big West coaches predicted Pacific to finish seventh
• UOP went 8-9-1 in 2011, posting a 2-5-1 conference record to finish eighth
Scouting San Jose State
• Cal has won each of the four meetings with the Spartans
• The Bears defeated SJSU 3-1 in the last outing (Oct. 24, 2008)
• The Spartans take on San Francisco in their season-opener on Friday
• SJSU had a 6-12-1 record in 2011, taking third in the Western Athletic Conference at a 4-2-1 clip
• Senior Kelsey Lord - who led SJSU in every category for field players - was named to the Presason All-WAC First Team
• The WAC coaches slated the Spartans to finish fourth
Remembering Last Season
In 2011, Cal won 12 matches - its most since 2007 - and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship. The Bears, who climbed as high as No. 11 in the national rankings during the year, knocked off Santa Clara on the road in the opening round of NCAAs and nearly advanced to the third round of the tournament, falling to No. 16 Boston College in penalty kicks. Four Bears earned All-Pac-12 honors - Danielle Brunache, Betsy Hassett, Lauren Battung and Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick - and a record 13 individuals were named to the Pac-12 All-Academic team, with Hassett also gaining NSCAA Scholar All-American recognition.
Next Week on the Pitch
The home stretch continues with two matches. On Thursday, Aug. 23, Cal will host Bay Area rival Santa Clara at 4 p.m. That game against the Broncos is a rematch of its NCAA Tournament first-round contest from last fall, when the Bears defeated the Broncos in penalty kicks, 4-3, after the teams tied, 1-1, in overtime. On Sunday, Aug. 26, Cal takes on Big 12 opponent Missouri in Berkeley. The contest against the Tigers will be the first of 10 matches broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks.
A Look at Cal's Schedule
All but two of Cal's home matches (Santa Clara and Washington State) this fall will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks. The 2012 slate features 10 home contests at Edwards Stadium/Goldman Field, with eight set to be televised by the conference's new networks. The demanding fall slate includes five teams - Oregon State, Santa Clara, Stanford, UCLA and Washington State - that earned a berth in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, including the defending NCAA champion Cardinal.
Pac-12 Coaches Predict Cal to Finish Third
The Conference coaches foresee the California women's soccer team taking third place in the Pac-12, according to the preseason poll released Monday. The third-place slating equals the 2007 predication, which was the highest forecast in the past six years. The 12 coaches selected defending national champion Stanford as the preseason favorite.
Cal's Morgan, U.S. Win Gold by Beating Japan
Former Golden Bear Alex Morgan and the U.S. Women's National Team defeated Japan 2-1 to win gold on Aug. 9 at the London Olympics. Morgan - a four-year letterwinner with the California women's soccer team - assisted on the Americans' first goal. Morgan scored thrice - including one gamewinner - over the course of the London Games, which were the Diamond Bar, Calif., native's first Olympic outing. She had played in the 2011 FIFA World Cup, taking silver with the Americans.
