The Cal women’s soccer team has been rolling through the Pac-12 on an eight-game winning streak. But on this weekend’s road trip, the Bears face by far their toughest challenge of the season to date.
The Bears are in third place in the Pac-12 but have yet to play either of the teams sitting above them in the standings: No. 2 UCLA and No. 1 Stanford.
First, on Friday, No. 21 Cal (14-3, 7-1 in the Pac-12) takes on UCLA at Drake Stadium. The team then will complete its Southern California trip with a match against USC at McAlister Field on Sunday.
The undefeated Bruins are led by seniors Zakiya Bywaters and Lucretia Lee. Bywaters paces the team with 11 goals, and Lee has played almost every minute this season as the team’s defensive anchor.
UCLA (14-0-2, 7-0-1) is on a seven-game winning streak since a 0-0 tie with Washington State in its Pac-12 opener. The Bruins have outscored their opponents 37-6 so far this season.
The Bears played the Bruins to a 0-0 double overtime tie in their matchup last year, one of only two matches that season in which the Bruins were held scoreless. The match was nearly as even as the score itself, with UCLA taking only one more shot than Cal.
However, a more experienced Cal, 7-0 on the road so far this season, is looking for a better result this year.
“Our team has a different dynamic this year,” junior forward Rachel Mercik said. “We have great chemistry and we’re in a great flow, and we have the desire to get a win.”
If the Bears sweep their matches this weekend — a very real possibility — they will be sitting in second place in the Pac-12, with only Stanford ahead of them.
It would then set up a de facto Pac-12 title match in Cal’s regular season finale against the Cardinal on Nov. 4.
“We have a chance to beat them and win the Pac-12 this year, but we’re always focusing on the game at hand,” Mercik said.
The Bears would do well to hold to that mindset this weekend, because they cannot afford to overlook their matchup with USC on Sunday.
USC (5-8-3, 2-4-2) has been mired near the bottom of the Pac-12 standings for much of the season, with only one win in its last seven matches.
When asked about what would make the difference this weekend, Mercik said the bench would be vital.
The Bears have a deep roster that allows for diversity in their starting lineups.
There are 20 players on the roster who have started at least one match this year. This gives Cal at least half a dozen players on its bench that may not have started the match but are capable of winning it for them.
“Our bench is the engine of this team,” Mercik said. “We’re thankful we have a bench that’s so great and makes such a huge difference for us.”
Eric Riehl covers men’s soccer. Contact him at [email protected]
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