Cal women’s soccer heads into its game against Penn coming off of a victory, but the squad may not play that way.
The No. 15 Bears went into their last game against UC Davis with two previous wins fueling their momentum. The team was sluggish and struggled to generate offense as it barely eked out a 2-1 win against the unranked Aggies in double overtime.
“We won but we weren’t exactly happy with our performance,” said defender Emi Lawson. “Our mentality is that we are coming off of a loss and need to prove ourselves.”
To do so, the Bears (5-2-0) will have to dominate the Quakers (2-2-0) in a Friday faceoff at Edwards Stadium at 4 p.m. The Bears will try to shake off their wobbly last showing before they begin conference play next week.
Last week’s near-upset ended with Cal climbing in the polls from No. 17 to No. 15, but the squad still has some adjustments to make if it wants to be on top of its game.
“The pace of the game was a little slower than we like to play,” said Lawson. “We weren’t passing as well and we weren’t winning the aerial game, and those things added up and made it hard to put the game away.”
Shaken by the close game with the underestimated Aggies, Cal heads into the Penn game with a determined mindset. The Cal defenders have an idea of what to expect and have a plan to shut down Penn’s offensive efforts. Namely, the Bears anticipate a very direct offense with lots of long balls fired up the field, toward which the forwards will run.
Reluctant to be sucked into that type of long-range battery, Cal will focus on maintaining possession of the ball and generating offense through its midfield.
“They are going to bomb the ball up the flanks,” said midfielder Genessee Daughetee. “If we are able to shut down their players and keep the ball in our offensive end, we will be able to control the game.”
Cal may find the answer to its lack of momentum in set pieces. The Bears have outnumbered their opponents in corner kicks, 53-17, yet they have only scored on two of these crucial scoring opportunities.
“We are looking to get a shutout and to convert more of our opportunities,” said Lawson. “We usually get a lot of free kick and corner kick opportunities and we are looking to finish more of those chances.”
Though Cal may have played poorly in its last game, the team has one more chance to work out the kinks before heading into conference play. While the Bears have identified several areas to improve, they have still been accumulating wins.
Friday’s game against Penn will be the Bears’ opportunity to return to dominance rather than settle for another close win against an unranked team.
“Our team is very young and resilient,” said Daughetee. “We trust each other and will battle tooth and nail for each other.”
Taylor Brink covers women’s soccer. Contact her at Click here to read the full comment policy.