The Cal women’s soccer team did not live up to expectations in last weekend’s conference opener, but head into this weekend with a chance to redeem itself.
The Bears (7-3, 0-1 in Pac 12) dropped their first conference match to Arizona after entering the game as heavy favorites. This weekend’s two-game home stand against Oregon on Friday and Oregon State on Sunday provides the perfect stage for a potential turnaround.
“We want to bounce back from our loss against Arizona,” senior forward Samantha Walker said. “We are definitely excited to come back and hopefully get two wins in conference after this weekend.”
Cal dropped four spots in the national poll from No. 15 to No. 19 after the loss, despite rebounding in the same weekend with a 3-0 win over Nevada. In the suit of national superiority, losses greatly outweigh wins, which is why this weekend’s upcoming games are so important to the Bears.
The weekend will kick off with a 2 p.m. game on Friday against Oregon (5-3-2, 0-1) and conclude with a 1:30 p.m. game against No. 20 Oregon State (9-1, 1-0). Both games will take place in front of a home audience at Edwards stadium.
The Ducks also enter the weekend with one conference loss already, and Cal has been the victor in the teams’ last five meetings.
“We tend to play well against (Oregon) but every year is a new year,” Walker said. “We have to go into every game expecting that the team will be good, especially in the Pac-12. In this conference, no game is an easy game.”
The Bears are favored over the Ducks, but the Beavers are easily the main threat this weekend. The squad has only lost one game so far this season, and enters the weekend with a five game winning streak. However, they must face No. 2 Stanford before playing Cal, so that momentum may shift before they come over to Berkeley.
“Usually it is one game at a time for us, but OSU is definitely the bigger game of the weekend,” junior forward Rachel Mercik. “They are always a great team and we have a rivalry with them. This is Bear territory and it is going to be a battle.”
That rivalry is not necessarily as deeply entrenched as the longstanding local rivalries between Cal and Stanford or Santa Clara, but to the players it carries similar weight. Since 1995, the Bears had the upper hand in the competition.
But that streak was snapped by a 3-0 blowout. And now, the Bears are hungry for revenge.
“The games the last two years have been so intense, and we crave that,” Mercik said. “The ways the game have played out in the last few years have been so emotional and so physical.”
That passion may be crucial in clinching the victory for the Bears. Oregon State has only suffered one loss this season, but the squad has faced few serious challenges.
Conversely, Cal has suffered several wins but has faced much tougher competition. The teams should be well matched with similar skill levels and a tumultuous history, and the game will likely be just as heated as in past years.
The Beavers have a lot of upward momentum and are climbing in the national rankings, and Cal desperately needs wins this weekend. The two teams are on a collision course, and only one can emerge the victor.
Taylor Brink covers women’s soccer. Contact her at [email protected]
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