Senior forward Katie Benz scored only three goals in her first three years for Cal women’s soccer team.
But in Sunday’s 4-2 win over Denver, she matched the three goals within 85 minutes.
In addition to the hat trick, Benz scored one goal in Friday’s 5-1 victory against Kent State, making a total of four goals this weekend.
Coming into the season as the replacement for star striker Alex Morgan, Benz has more than fulfilled Morgan’s boots as the dominant offensive threat for the Bears.In six matches this season, Benz — recently named Bank of the West Pac-12 Women’s Soccer Player of the Week — leads the Pac-12 with eight goals; Stanford’s Lindsay Taylor is second on the list with five goals.
Although Benz has received attention for her goals, she helped open other players with goal scoring opportunities this season. Benz is tied for first in assists with three this season, and her presence on the field greatly benefitted fellow forwards Miranda White and Mekenna DeBack who already have career-high numbers in goals with three and four goals, respectively.
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