Friday, Sept. 7
5 p.m. - No. 17 Cal (4-2-0) at UC Davis (3-0-1)
Aggie Soccer Stadium - Davis, Calif.
Coverage: GameTracker, Twitter
BERKELEY - The No. 17 California women's soccer team plays just one game this week - a Sept. 7 tilt at UC Davis. The Bears (4-2-0) and Aggies (3-0-1) kick off at 5 p.m. at Aggie Soccer Stadium. Cal looks to ferry its momentum from two wins last weekend into this week's nonconference match-up in Davis. Both squads bring two-game winning streaks into Friday's match-up with Davis sporting an unbeaten record this season.
Cal Leads Pac-12 in Scoring
With 17 goals six games into the season, Cal sits atop the conference leader board. The 17 goals are first in the Pac-12, with Washington next in line with 12. Cal leads the Pac-12 in shots with 116, averaging 19.33 per game. The Bears own a double-digit lead in points with 47 for first place, well ahead of UW's 34. Cal paces the Pac-12 in corners with 47 (7.83 per game), which is 14 more than second-place Arizona State's 33.
Lawson Named Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week
Junior defender Emi Lawson powered the Bears to two wins over the weekend with her work on the back line, making her this week's California Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week. In 180 minutes of play, Cal allowed just one goal. At Cal Poly in hopes of breaking a two-game losing streak, Lawson scored a goal in the 56th to provider her Bears some insurance. Lawson had come out of the game when the Mustangs scored their lone goal. With Lawson in at defender, Cal Poly could only muster five shots. On Sunday against USF, Lawson played a definitive role in the 3-0 shutout. Additionally, Lawson's defensive prowess allowed the Dons to take just one shot throughout the 90 minutes of play. Cal is currently outshooting its opponents 19.3-7.3 shots per game.
Bears Limit USF to One Shot
Cal came into the Sept. 2 game against San Francisco taking 19.8 shots per game to their opponents 8.6, but they took that one step further. Cal limited the Dons to just one shot in 90 minutes with the Bears firing off 17 shots. USF's lone shot came in the first half, when the Bears tallied 13. Two of Cal's four second-half shots resulted in goals.
Bears Make Waves on Conference Lists
Grace Leer is tied for third with Washington's Lindsay Elston in goals with both Pac-12 student-athletes with four goals to their names.
Betsy Hassett and
Ifeoma Onumonu are tied with five others for fifth in goals with three. Leer and Hassett are tied for fourth in the conference with nine points apiece. Hassett is fourth in the Pac-12 in shots (18).
McGuire Climbs Victory Chart
With 12 victories last season and four this year, head coach Neil McGuire now has 61 career wins in his six seasons 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. With the win over USF on Sept. 2, McGuire is now tied for second place with Bill Merrell, who posted a 61-20-8 record from 1983-85.
Last Week on the Pitch
After dropping two hard-fought, white-knuckle games last week, the No. 17 California women's soccer team returned to its top-notch form with a 4-1 win over Cal Poly on Aug. 31 and a 3-0 win over USF on Sept. 2. Against the Mustangs in San Luis Obispo, the Bears took a 1-0 advantage over the Mustangs into the half before exploding for three second-half goals to the Mustangs' one. Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick scored 10:58 into the game from five yards out after Ifeoma Onumonu dished off a quick pass. The Bears held the 1-0 lead until three minutes into the second half, when Taylor Comeau scored her first goal of the season with Kory Lamet on the assist. The Bears didn't wait 10 minutes before scoring again, this time with Emi Lawson heading the ball in off a Thelma Einarsdottir corner at 55:51. It was déjà vu in the 65th minute when Einarsdottir stepped up to take another corner kick, then it was Nina Pederson who scored off the cross. Down 4-0, the Mustang offense kicked into high gear to avoid the shutout, scoring with 11:30 remaining in regulation. On Sept. 2, Cal earned its first televised victory with a 3-0 victory over San Francisco. Again, the Bears took a 1-0 lead into halftime before posting two goals in the second half to best the Dons. Ifeoma Onumonu scored in the 23rd minute. Grace Leer upped Cal's lead to 2-0 with a shot in the 69th and Mekenna DeBack made it 3-0 in the 74th. Betsy Hassett assisted on the first two goals with Leer credited with the third-goals' assist.
In the Rankings
In the Top Drawer Soccer poll, Cal holds steady at No. 17. The Bears are receiving votes in the Soccer Times poll, which has not been updated this week yet. UC Davis is unranked in all the polls.
Next Week on the Pitch
Cal returns home to host Penn on Sept. 14 at 4 p.m. in a game that will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.
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 trick 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 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.
Cal Opens Season With Two Wins
The Bears began 2012 on a serious high note - defeating Pacific 3-0 on Aug. 17 in Stockton, Calif., and then besting San Jose State 5-2 in the home opener on Aug. 19. Cal is now 25-5-1 in the program's history of season openers. Additionally, the Bears have won 15 of their past 17 lid lifters.
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 - played 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.
Join the Bears in the Social Media Realm
This season, fans of the prestigious California women's soccer team can get even closer to the Golden Bears - through Facebook, Twitter and the Cal Athletics YouTube channel. By following the California women's soccer team on its social media, fans can get even closer to the team, get breaking-news alerts, see photos and get other inside information. The Cal women's soccer Facebook page features links to CalBears.com stories, polls, insider photos as well as YouTube videos highlighting the Bears. Cal women's soccer Twitter is the best place to find game results, links to stories as well as photos and other insider information. Additionally, Cal women's soccer videos will be posted on the Cal Athletics YouTube channel and then linked on social media.
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.
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.
A Golden Olympics for the Golden Bears
A total of 46 Golden Bear athletes, coaches and staff members represented Cal during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and together, they brought home a school-record-tying 17 medals (11 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze). The Bears have won 50 medals over the past three Olympics (16 in 2004, 17 in 2008, 17 in 2012), and they have captured 178 medals all-time (99 gold).
Cal No. 1 Public University in the Country
The University of California is the No. 1-ranked public university in the United States, according to U.S. News and World Report. The faculty has won 22 Nobel Prizes, including nine current members, while 28 alumni have received a Nobel Prize. A National Research Council analysis of U.S. universities concluded that the campus has the largest number of highly ranked graduate programs in the country (48 of 52). Cal also has a long commitment to public service, with more than 4,000 students annually doing volunteer work and more than 3,000 Peace Corps participants all-time.
