Aug. 28, 2012
Weekly Release 3 - Cal Poly 
Friday, Aug. 31
6 p.m. - No. 17 Cal (2-2) at Cal Poly (3-0-1)
Alex G. Spanos Stadium - San Luis Obispo, Calif.
All-Time Record vs. CP - 3-2
Last Meeting - L 1-0 (OT) on 9/25/09
Coverage: Live Stats, Twitter, Audio
Sunday, Sept. 2
Noon - No. 17 Cal (2-2) vs. San Francisco (1-1-2)
Edwards Stadium - Berkeley
All-Time Record vs. USF - 12-3-2
Last Meeting - W 6-1 on 9/18/11
Coverage: Pac-12 Networks, Twitter, GameTracker
Tickets: Adults $8, Senior $4, Youth/Students Free
BERKELEY - The No. 17 California women's soccer team takes its second road trip of the year, heading down the coast to San Luis Obispo. On Friday, Aug. 31, the Bears (2-2) play Cal Poly (3-0-1) at 6 p.m. It's a quick trip for Cal returns to the friendly confines of Edwards Stadium for a noon match-up on Sept. 2 against San Francisco (1-1-2). That match will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.
Cal Leads Pac-12 in Scoring
With 10 goals just four games into the season, Cal sits atop the conference leader board. The 10 goals are first in the Pac-12, with Stanford and Washington State close behind with nine apiece. Cal leads the Pac-12 in shots with 80, averaging 20.00 per game. The Bears and Cougars are tied in points with 26. Cal paces the Pac-12 in corners with 31 (7.75 per game), which is 12 more than second-place UCLA's 19.
Bears Limit Santa Clara to Three Shots
Even though Cal lost to Santa Clara 1-0 on Aug. 23, the Bears allowed the Broncos to fire off just three shots. The three shots allowed are the fewest allowed in the Pac-12. The last time the Bears had limited an opponent to such paltry shooting numbers was Oct. 23, 2011, when the Utes only took two shots in the ultimate 2-0 Cal victory.
Bears Make Waves on Conference Lists
Betsy Hassett - with three goals and one assist - is second in the Pac-12 with seven points and seventh in points per game (1.75). Thanks to her hat trick on Aug. 19, Grace Leer is tied with Hassett and two others for second in the conference with three goals. Leer and Hassett are tied for fifth with 0.75 goals per game. Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick is fifth amongst all Pac-12 players with 13 shots (3.25 per game), which is just three behind three student-athletes who occupy first with 16 shots. Fitzpatrick's 3.25 shots per game rank her eight in the conference.
Last Week on the Pitch
Despite outshooting the opposition by double-digit figures, Cal fell 1-0 to Santa Clara on Aug. 23. Santa Clara got on the board in the 30th minute and the Bears, who pressed for the majority of the second half, could not equalize. In the 30th minute, Santa Clara's Sarah Jackson dribbled in the box before shooting it to the lower left corner. Though Santa Clara took the 1-0 lead into the halftime break, at that point, Cal was outshooting the Broncos 5-2 with four corner kicks to Santa Clara's one. Cal then doubled its offensive output in the second stanza, outshooting SCU 11-1. On Aug. 26 in Cal's first-ever Pac-12 Networks broadcast, the Bears lost 3-2 to No. 13 Missouri. After the Bears led 1-0 for over 40 minutes, the Tigers knotted things up with a goal in the 51st and then went ahead 2-1 when they scored in the 59th. Playing one-goal down for 15 minutes, Betsy Hassett equalized in the 74th, but a Mizzou goal two minutes later cost Cal dearly. The Bears looked to capitalize on chances brought about by two Tiger yellow cards in the final six minutes, but they could not find the back of the net.
Bears Outshoot Opponents
In classic California women's soccer fashion, the Bears are currently outshooting their opponents 61-17. With a shot differential of 14.6 per game, Cal averages 20.3 per game to its opponents' 5.7. Cal limited Santa Clara to just three shots, which pales in comparison to Cal's 16. In the game against San Jose State, the Bears outshot the Spartans 19-5. Cal outshot its first opponent - Pacific - 26-9.
In the Rankings
In the Top Drawer Soccer poll, Cal dropped two spots from No. 15 to No. 17 this week. The Bears are receiving votes in the Soccer Times poll. Neither Cal Poly or USF is ranked in any of the four polls.
Previewing Cal Poly
• The last time Cal and Cal Poly met, the Mustangs squeaked out a 1-0 overtime win on Sept. 25, 2009, when Cal Poly scored in the 93rd minute
• In that game, the Bears outshot the Mustangs 25-8
• The Mustangs are 3-0-1 with wins over Loyola Marymount, CSU Bakersfield and Sacramento State
• Most recently, Cal Poly downed Sac State 4-1 on Aug. 26 after playing to a double-overtime 1-1 tie at Nevada on Aug. 24
• CP opened the year with a 3-1 victory against LMU and then defeated CSUB in the Mustangs' home opener on Aug. 19
• The Mustangs are outscoring their opponents 9-3 but are being outshot 59-50
• Christina Farrington has scored a team-high three goals with six other Mustangs scoring one apiece
• Alyssa Giannetti has played all 380 minutes in goal, accumulating a 0.71 goals-against average and a 3-0-1 record
Scouting San Francisco
• In their last meeting, Cal downed USF 6-1 on Sept. 18, 2011 in the City with two of the goals coming off successful penalty kicks
• In that game, five of the six goals were scored by current Bears - Grace Leer, Lauren Battung (ultimate gamewinner), Thelma Einarsdottir, Kory Lamet and Rachel Mercik
• USF battled to a pair of 1-1 double-overtime ties at San Jose State (Aug. 17) and against Fresno State (Aug. 19) to start the 2012 season
• USF's first victory came by way of a 1-0 decision against Pacific on Aug. 24
• The Dons bring a one-game losing streak into this weekend, dropping their most recent match to CSU Bakersfield 2-1 on Aug. 26
• USF takes on Sacramento State on Friday before making the trip to Berkeley
• Mackenzie Krieser, Jaciara Mello, Lauren AbuAli and Rochelle Weerackoon have all scored goals this year
• The Dons are under the guidance first-year head coach Jim Millinder, who had previously served at the helm of the USC program
Former Bear to Square Off Against Alma Mater
Sunday's match will bring four-year California letterwinner Maite Zabala back to Berkeley. Zabala, who is in her fourth year as an assistant coach at USF. After playing for the Bears for four years, Zabala was a volunteer assistant and assistant coach for five years. In nine years with Zabala as a player or coach, the Bears posted nine winning seasons and garnered eight NCAA Tournament bids, highlighted by a third-round appearance in 2005. Under Zabala's tutelage, the Bears ranked seventh among NCAA Division I leaders in team goals-against average at 0.475 in 2005 and matched a program high with 14 shutouts.
Next Week on the Pitch
Cal plays just one game next week - a Sept. 7 tilt at UC Davis. The last time the Bears and Aggies squared off was in Neil McGuire's first-ever game - Aug. 27, 2007 - in exhibition play that saw UCD emerge victoriously with a 1-0 win.
Leer Named Aug. 21 Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week
After singing the national opener for the home opener against San Jose State on Aug. 19, Grace Leer scored a hat strick to power the Bears to a 5-2 win, making her the first Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week. With the three goals, Leer ups her previous career goal count of two to five. After SJSU struck first, Leer equalized with her first goal of the game. With the teams tied 2-2, with just three minutes on the clock before halftime, Leer scored twice to give Cal a 4-2 first-half advantage. With her team down 1-0, and with fresh legs - subbing in just two minutes prior - Grace Leer scored her first goal of the year. Fitzpatrick crossed the ball in from the far side, and Leer collected the loose ball in the six-yard box and fired it in. In the 42nd minute, and flanked by multiple SJSU bodies and the SJSU keeper, Leer found her footing and waited for the perfect moment, when she flicked the ball in. Then, with the 10-second countdown well underway and audible, Leer fired off a shot from six yards out, sending the Bears into the half with a two-goal lead.
Five Goals Best in 15 Games
The five goals scored against San Jose State on Aug. 19 were the most Cal had scored in 15 games. Cal's most recent goal explosion of five goals or more occurred in a 6-1 win over San Francisco on Sept. 18, 2011.
Freshman Pair Score First Goals
In their very first weekend of play, freshmen Celeste Boureille and Ifeoma Onumonu both scored their inaugural career goals. Boureille got her Cal career off on the absolute best foot, scoring the Bears' first goal of the season and her first in the Blue & Gold with a strike in the 44th minute. Her goal was the ultimate gamewinner in the eventual 3-0 victory over Pacific on Aug. 17. In the 55th minute of the Aug. 19 game against San Jose State, Onumonu scored in front of the goal with Kory Lamet assisting.
McGuire Climbs Victory Chart
With 12 victories last season and two this year, head coach Neil McGuire now has 59 career wins in his sixth season with the Golden Bears. Last year, McGuire's victory against USC on Oct. 9, 2011 moved him past Andy Bonchonsky (1991-96) and into third place on the school's all-time coaching victories list. He owns a 59-36-12 career record at Cal. McGuire enters this weekend just two wins shy of second-place Bill Merrell, who posted a 61-20-8 record from 1983-85.
