Dean Ignacio/File

On Sept. 28, as the cold fog descended on Edwards Stadium, the Cal men’s soccer team scored the golden goal to defeat San Diego State. The Bears improved to a 6-2-1 record, and at the time they believed they can contend for the Pac-12 title.

Then, everything started to go downhill.

In the next nine matches against five Pac-12 teams, Cal (8-7-3, 3-5-2 in the Pac-12) lost five and won just two matches. The team’s NCAAs chances took a huge blow after unexpectedly losing to last-place San Diego State on Nov. 1.

The final dagger to the Bears’ postseason hopes came in the 6-1 loss to Stanford in the season finale. Despite taking a 1-0 lead in the first half, Cal allowed five goals in the second half.

The tale of two halves at the Bay Area derby match was the entire season in a nutshell. Cal got off to a strong early start controlling the possession and pace until the team began to lose control and fall apart in the second half.

“It was one of those games where we just don’t what happened,” midfielder Seth Casiple said after the Stanford loss.

Despite the late-season collapse, though, the Bears are looking at this season through rose-tinted glasses.

Cal’s 8-7-3 season was a vast improvement over its abysmal 3-9-5 campaign last season. After losing nearly all its veteran players to professional soccer in 2010, Cal’s talent pool was hollowed out and was headed for a multi-year rebuilding project.

But the overall winning record and the emergence of several players had head coach Kevin Grimes optimistic about his team and the future.

“There was improvement, improvement, improvement from this team,” Grimes said. “It’s like the old adage about real estate: location, location, location. There were great strides made by all individual players and the team as a whole.”

The brightest spot on the Cal squad next year is on the center midfield. Alec Sundly and Casiple were two of the best technical players in the roster, with Casiple leading the team in assists for the second consecutive year.

However, the center of the pitch will miss senior Tony Salciccia. Salciccia was an exemplary box-to-box midfielder, a midfielder that can both cover defensively and create goalscoring opportunities.

In the defense, the graduation of fifth-year centre back Ted Jones, who has been the anchor of the defense, is a blow to the unit. Jones will pass the torch onto left back Christian Dean, who has terrorized opposing players all season with his superior physical talents.

Senior centre back Steve Birnbaum might be able to return to the team next season. Birnbaum was shut down for the entire season due to a knee injury and can possibly apply for a medical hardship waiver.

But the biggest question marks of this team lie in the striker position. Grimes’ four-player platoon in the forward position had wildly inconsistent degrees of success. With the graduation of seniors John Fitzpatrick and Kyle Lunt, there are currently only two strikers on the roster.

Grimes remains optimistic about his attacking options. Team-leading scorer Stefano Bonomo didn’t perform at his peak level due to a nagging ankle injury, and junior Luis Fuentes took huge leaps as a striker.

With a new class of strikers coming to Edwards Stadium next fall, Grimes is not worried about the current dearth at the position.

After finishing with a winning season, Cal is making strides to one day reach its 2010 zenith again. The hunger, as Grimes points out, is currently burning inside every player.

“They had the NCAAs at the tip of their tongues,” Grimes said. “Everybody’s got a twinkle in their eyes for next season.”

Seung Y. Lee covers men’s soccer. Contact him at sylee@dailycal.org

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In its worst loss since its 6-0 beatdown to Maryland in September, Stanford (9-8-1, 5-4-1 in the Pac-12) scored five goals in the second half en route to a 6-1 rout. Forward Adam Jahn scored a hat trick in his last regular season match as a Cardinal.

The bloated scoreboard belied what the Bears (8-7-3, 3-5-2) were able to do in the first 45 minutes. Cal was the noticeably better team in the first half, controlling the pace with its quick passes.

In the 16th minute, the Bears drew first blood. Midfielder Tony Salciccia’s sudden run down the flank threw the Cardinal defense off guard, and when Salciccia crossed the ball in the penalty box, forward John Fitzpatrick found acres of open space in point-blank range for the easy score.

In the 37th minute, Jahn equalized, telegraphing a cross from midfielder Ty Thompson to the back of the net.

At halftime, there was no foreshadowing of what was to come.

“We talked about breaking their pressure because they held a tight defensive line,” midfielder Seth Casiple said. “Other than that, we didn’t change anything that would cause this.”

Within the first 20 seconds of the second half, Jahn took the lead with a header off a cross from defender Brandon Vincent. It was the first crack in Cal’s defensive levee.

“That second goal changed the entire game,” Cal coach Kevin Grimes said. “We started pressing (on the offense) almost so hard that it vicariously backfired.”

In contrast to the first half, the Bears could not hold onto the ball and create offensive chances in the second half. Playing in a must-win match, Cal needed an equalizer, subsequently thinning out the defense for more offense.

Then in the 62nd minute, the levee finally broke open as midfielder Aaron Kovar scored the third goal assisted by Eric Verso. The defense was in ruins, and the players looked desperate to at least tie the match.

Twelve minutes later, Verso was alone in a counterattack with Ted Jones and Connor Hallisey as last cover. Jones and Hallisey collided with each other, and Verso tapped the ball with his back heel past goalkeeper Kevin Peach.

“Verso was playing out of his mind today,” Casiple said.

In less than two minutes, Jahn sealed his hat trick. With a 5-1 lead, the Cardinal toyed around with the hapless Bears.

In the 87th minute, Cal’s comedy of errors reached its peak as defender Christian Dean’s last-ditch save ricocheted off teammate Max Oldham for the own goal.

By then, the match was long over to the point where Stanford coach Jeremy Gunn placed in third-string goalkeeper Preston Langholz as a midfielder. After the final whistle blew, the seniors were left in tears, knowing its last chance at the NCAAs was pulverized by their Pac-12 rivals.

“We were chasing for our season,” Grimes said. “We almost over-gambled. We played the percentages to win. That can leave yourself exposed.”

Seung Y. Lee covers men’s soccer. Contact him at sylee@dailycal.org

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Brenna Alexander/File

As the boat sinks and the water rises, the Cal men’s soccer team is gasping for air.

Nonetheless, it’s still kicking, and for the players and coaches that’s enough reason to believe in a NCAA tournament berth come next week.

The Bears’ two-month long campaign comes to an end on Friday in a derby match against Stanford. The 1:30 p.m. matinee at Edwards Stadium is a must-win for Cal (8-6-3, 3-4-2 in the Pac-12) to even have a prayer for the postseason.

But even if the Bears defeat the Cardinal and finish with a nine-win season, history and numbers are against their odds of a postseason.

Of the 48 teams invited to the tournament last year, only seven had fewer than 10 wins in the regular season. Three of those squads automatically qualified as the champions of their respective conferences, and the other four all had a winning conference record, at the very least.

Cal’s win against its Pac-12 rival will improve its conference record to exactly .500. The Bears — who are neither a 10-win team, a conference champion nor a team with an above-.500 Pac-12 record — will have to rely on uncontrollable luck to even eke into the tournament.

But right now, the squad is solely focused on the things that it can dictate.

“We only have Friday under our control,” Cal coach Kevin Grimes said. “We’re going to focus on Friday and let fate take its course.”

Stanford (8-8-1, 4-4-1) is also looking for a miracle to enter the NCAA tournament. At a slight third in the Pac-12 ahead of Cal, the Cardinal have lost three of six recent matches to first-place UCLA and second-place Washington twice.

Led by first-year head coach Jeremy Gunn, Stanford defines itself on its rough style of play that has brewed some bad blood from the Bears. On Oct. 4 at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium, Cal and the Cardinal piled up 38 fouls and four yellow cards. Thanks to sophomore Zach Bateer’s two header goals, the Cardinal won, 2-0.

“From the first play of the game, they had the center midfielder against me flying in with a tackle,” senior midfielder Tony Salciccia said. “We are looking to get some cards.”

All eyes on the Cal defensive line will be on forward Adam Jahn, who has accounted for 40 percent of the Cardinal’s total goals with 10. In the last six matches, Jahn has recorded five goals and two assists.

But the Bears’ defense has looked in control of its play in recent matches. Last week, the defensive line soaked up 28 UCLA shots for 110 minutes to leave Los Angeles with a crucial 1-1 tie.

“We were inches from winning the (UCLA) game,” Grimes said. “The guys looked razor-sharp this week in practice.”

With just one match remaining, perhaps Cal found its groove too late. Even with a decisive victory on Friday, midnight might have already struck at Edwards Stadium for the Bears.

But Cal is not ready to buy into that growing reality just yet.

“We’re looking to get into the tournament,” Salciccia said. “We’re still alive.”

Seung Y. Lee covers men’s soccer. Contact him at sylee@dailycal.org

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The Bears did exactly that, tying the Bruins, 1-1, in double overtime at Drake Stadium.

But Cal’s NCAAs bubble probably popped before the Sunday night match commenced.

On Friday, the Bears (8-6-3, 2-4-2 in the Pac-12) suffered an unexpected 2-1 loss to San Diego State at the SDSU SportsDeck. The Aztecs, who were winless in seven previous Pac-12 tilts, drew first blood in the 10th minute.

While Cal leveled the match going into halftime with a goal from midfielder Omid Jalali, San Diego State’s Blake Wise scored the match-winner in the 53rd minute with a long-range shot.

Of the three remaining matches left for Cal before last weekend, the San Diego State match was by far the easiest in the schedule. For a squad that needed as many positive results as possible to prolong its season, Cal dropped an opportunity against the Aztecs, leaving a colossal black mark on its season resume.

“We played pretty well tonight and couldn’t catch a break,” Cal coach Kevin Grimes said in Friday’s post-match interview.

The Bears however caught a huge break against a superior UCLA squad on Sunday. Despite bringing the match to a tie, the Bruins outshot Cal, 28-11, and dominated the possession for all 110 minutes.

In the first half, Cal only took two shots but scored the first goal to leave Drake Stadium stunned in silence. In the 41st minute, the Bears earned one of their eight total corner kicks that translated into midfielder Alec Sundly scoring the goal.

In the scrum inside the penalty box following midfielder Seth Casiple’s corner kick cross, forward John Fitzpatrick, knocked down to the ground, tipped the ball to the top of the box where Sundly was fortunately positioned. Sundly slotted the ball past the Bruins goalkeeper for the easy score.

The Cal defensive levee that held waves of UCLA’s attacks scoreless finally gave in the equalizer to forward Reed Williams in the 53rd minute. Williams shot the ball to the far post past goalkeeper Kevin Peach to tie the match.

The Bruins relentlessly pushed forward to get the match-winner for the next 57 minutes. Marshalled by Peach, who finished the match with five saves, the Cal defense didn’t allow UCLA to convert any of the ensuing 19 shots into a goal.

The attacks from both Bears and Bruins escalated into a near frenzy in overtime. In the first five minutes of the second overtime, UCLA bombarded four shots, two of which required Peach to make dramatic saves.

But with 17 seconds left in the clock, defender Ryan Neil had the best chance for Cal to score the golden goal. With only the Bruins’ goalkeeper in front of him, Neil’s shot from a point-blank range hit the crossbar and dashed Cal from a momentous upset.

“All you can say is that it was an amazing performance by the boys and a great game to be a part of,” Grimes said in Sunday’s post-game interview.

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Currently placed third in the Pac-12 standings behind No. 7 UCLA and No. 24 Washington, the Bears (8-5-2, 3-3-1 in the Pac-12) certainly can use a win or two to strengthen its resume.

This weekend, the Bears’ bubble can either shrink or pop in Southern California. After stopping first at San Diego State on Thursday at 7 p.m., Cal will head to the Bruins’ lair at Drake Stadium on Sunday at 5 p.m.

Four weeks ago, the Bears played both the Aztecs and UCLA in Edwards Stadium. After edging past San Diego State (6-7-3, 0-5-2) in double overtime with Stefano Bonomo’s golden goal, Cal was crushed by the Bruins by three goals.

UCLA (11-2-2, 6-1-0) dominated the match, ending Cal’s six-match undefeated streak and the start of three-match losing skid.

For the Bears, the loss stung painfully as soon as the final whistle was blown. For over a month, Cal players have been grinding their axes for revenge.

“It’ll be in the back of our minds when we head down (to UCLA),” midfielder Seth Casiple said after the loss to UCLA. “Hopefully we’ll have a couple of wins by then.”

Cal did pick up a pair of victories in the last four weeks, but the effort was not enough to impress the NCAA selection committee.

Both of Cal’s wins came against Oregon State, ranked fifth in the Pac-12. The Bears pushed first-place Washington to double overtime in both matchups but came out with only one tie.

While Cal is struggling to win a big match, UCLA is recently coming off a seismic victory.

On Monday, the Bruins defeated the Huskies, 1-0, ending Washington’s perfect Pac-12 play. UCLA finally turned the close race for the conference title in its favor — if the Bruins win their three remaining matches, they will retain the Pac-12 crown.

The Bruins are currently riding a high tide by winning the last three matches. While the wins were all decided by a one goal margin, both the UCLA offense and defense stepped up when necessary.

In the 4-3 win against San Diego State that traded goals like a ping pong match, the Bruins offense mustered responses to every goal scored by the Aztecs. In the 1-0 victory versus the Huskies, the UCLA defense one-upped the acclaimed Washington defense by allowing one shot on goal the entire match.

It will be a tall task for the Bears to stop the red-hot Bruins. The defensive unit somehow needs to shut down the four or five UCLA players who terrorized it in their last matchup.

The midfielders and strikers will look to retain possession and score goals early in the match. It will be the only way to keep the Bruins offense at bay.

Cal this season has lacked a big result from a big team. A win, or even a tie, against UCLA can do the trick that gets the Bears in the NCAAs.

Seung Y. Lee covers men’s soccer. Contact him at sylee@dailycal.org

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With a perfect 6-0-2 record, No. 24 Washington has enjoyed the top of the conference standings over No. 7 UCLA by sticking to the oldest adage in the book: defense wins championships.

In 17 matches, the Huskies allowed only 14 goals and eight shutouts. Despite lacking a reliable scorer or offensive playmaker, Washington has found success in its stonewall defense.

There are two stats that highlight the importance of the Huskies’ defense. First, the only Washington player in the Pac-12’s top ten in goals scored is defender Dylan Tucker-Gangnes with seven goals. The next leading goalscorer in the Huskies’ roster only has three goals.

Second, goalkeeper Spencer Richey has recorded only 3.41 saves per game, the second-lowest number in the conference. It’s nearly a whole save per game less than Cal goalie Kevin Peach. Thanks to the stalwart defense in front, Richey has less work to do as goalkeeper.

The Huskies’ backline has been the backbone of the team’s Cinderella run. It has shut down opposing attackers and even produced some goals. If the Washington defense can hold on for two more games to finish the Pac-12 season undefeated, it would celebrate its first conference title since 2000.

Who should win the Pac-12 Athlete of the Year?

There are several candidates who make valid arguments for the award.

There is UCLA’s golden boy Ryan Hollingshead, who leads the conference with eight assists. Washington defender Dylan Tucker-Gangnes deserves a mention as the leader of the Pac-12’s best defensive unit. Heck, even Cal’s Tony Salciccia gets a nod of acknowledgment.

But the trophy must go to Oregon State forward Emery Welshman, who leads the conference with 10 goals. The senior from Canada has been heart of the Beavers’ offense, scoring nearly a third of the team’s total goals. He has also contributed four assists to a roster that has scored 32 goals this season.

Welshman’s contributions have not led to wins on the standings. Oregon State has so far won only one out of its 10 conference matches, placing fifth in a six-team Pac-12 conference.

But whenever possible, Welshman has been the winning difference for the Beavers. He scored the lone goals against UC Irvine in double overtime and against San Diego State to carry Oregon State to victory. He leads the Pac-12 in game-winners with four goals.

Welshman has been the most complete offensive weapon in the conference. While the three aforementioned players make a case, Welshman have etched his name onto the trophy a long time ago.

Seung Y. Lee covers men’s soccer. Contact him at sylee@dailycal.org

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Brenna Alexander/Staff

On an early corner kick in the second minute against Oregon State on Sunday, Cal midfielder Alec Sundly rose above the opposing defense and directed a header at the goal.

Oregon State goalkeeper Matt Bersano made the save, but before he could gain control forward John Fitzpatrick swooped in and tapped the ball to put the Bears up 1-0.

That early goal proved to be the difference in a 1-0 victory for the Cal men’s soccer team at Edwards Stadium.

“It was huge for us,” said Fitzpatrick. “We knew it was going to be a battle.”

On Friday, Cal played to a 1-1 double-overtime tie against Washington (10-3-3, 5-0-2 in the Pac-12). In that match, the Bears (8-5-2, 3-3-1) quickly gave up a 1-0 lead midway through the second half but held on for the tie in 30 minutes of extra time.

“We knew we should’ve come out with a win last game,” Fitzpatrick said. “We had a lot of contributors this game so it was nice to see.”

Following a double overtime match, the Bears were playing on one less day of rest than the Beavers. The team knew they had to play through fatigue from Friday.

“The cards were stacked against us before the whistle blew,” Cal head coach Kevin Grimes said. “To be able to battle through; it was a great team effort.”

Cal made the most of its fast pace in the beginning of the first half by scoring the early goal.

However, Oregon State (6-7-2, 1-5-1) almost returned the favor at the beginning of the second half. The Beavers made a quick run up the field in the opening seconds and got off a shot that forced Cal goalkeeper Kevin Peach into a diving save.

With the 1-0 lead, the Bears played conservatively in the second half. They pushed forward when possible but were careful to not let the Beavers have any chance to take advantage of a breakaway opportunity.

Oregon State continued pressing forward, taking 11 shots and eight corner kicks in the second half. But Peach and the defensive line held strong, bouncing back every shot.

“The defense was spectacular today,” said Peach. “I thought our defense played well, cut down the angles, and made my life a whole lot easier.”

Peach had six saves in the second half as the Cal defense bent but never broke down.

“Kevin (Peach) did great,” Grimes said. “He’s had a great season, and the team knows they can count on him.”

Cal had a number of counterattack opportunities late in the second half, but never quite put the match out of reach.

But by the end, Fitzpatrick’s early goal proved to be the gamewinner, and a strong performance by the Cal defense was enough to come away with the win.

“I think our guys did a great job of being able to respond to the disappointment from Friday and come back today with a very good performance,” Grimes said.

Eric Riehl covers men’s soccer. Contact him at eriehl@dailycal.org

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Michael Ball/File

This is a must-win weekend for the Cal men’s soccer team.

Sitting in fourth place in the Pac-12 standings, the Bears need a pair of victories to keep their hopes alive for a strong finish in the Pac-12 and a berth in the NCAA tournament. Anything less and the Bears will be just about out of time to make a comeback.

However, a convenient act of scheduling may help the Bears get just the wins they need.

Cal (7-5-1, 2-3) hosts Washington and Oregon State this weekend, just a week after playing both teams on the road. The Bears fell to the Huskies 1-0 in double overtime on Oct. 12 but bounced back and defeated the Beavers 3-1 on Oct. 14.

“The Oregon State game is a big plus for us,” forward Stefano Bonomo said. “I think it gave us a lot of confidence for these next five games.”

Cal hopes that its experience having just played these teams will also pay off in the rematches this weekend.

“I think knowing their styles is really going to help us,” defender Christian Dean said. “We know (Washington) likes to get set pieces because they’re a bigger, more physical team.”

The recent experience has helped the Bears make the necessary adjustments in practice over the week.

They have focused on winning the possession battle and strengthening their back line, which got a boost last weekend with the return of senior defender Ted Jones. They hope it will help nullify Washington’s strength on set pieces.

“We’ve been working on a way to counterattack and just get out of that situation,” said Dean.

The Huskies (9-3-2, 4-0-1) have been on a tear recently. They are paced by defender/midfielder Dylan Tucker-Gangness, their leading goalscorer, and goalkeeper Spencer Richey, who has played every minute for the Huskies this season.

Washington brings a first -place standing in the Pac-12 and a six-match unbeaten streak to Edwards Stadium this weekend.

Cal is fourth place in the Pac-12 standings, behind Washington, UCLA and Stanford. The Huskies and Bruins are well ahead of Cal’s six points with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The Bears do, however, have matches remaining against both Washington and UCLA. This gives the Bears an opportunity to grab some points from their competition and move up in the standings.

A jump up in the Pac-12 standings would significantly strengthen their case for a berth in the NCAA tournament.

But the current gap is a tough one to make up with just a handful of games left. Cal needs Washington and UCLA to falter outside of their matchups for the Bears to catch up.

The Bears can’t afford to fall further behind if they want to make any noise in the Pac-12 in their final five matches of the season. But perhaps the Bears’ recent experience against this weekend’s opponents will be the boost needed to help them come away with a pair of victories.

Eric Riehl covers men’s soccer. Contact him at eriehl@dailycal.org

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Dean Ignacio /Staff

Heading into the Pacific Northwest this weekend, the Cal men’s soccer team stood at the crossroads of its season destiny. With four more weeks of play remaining, the Bears needed big performances in back-to-back tilts in order to vie for a slot in the upcoming NCAA tournament.

Yet Cal (7-5-1, 2-3 in the Pac-12) fell flat this weekend, splitting results at Washington and Oregon State. After falling by a golden goal to Washington in double overtime, the Bears defeated the Beavers, 3-1, on Sunday.

While the win against Oregon State snapped its three-match losing streak, Cal still lags behind No. 5 UCLA, Stanford and Washington in the Pac-12 standings. The Bears also lost to all three teams during the streak.

The Friday afternoon match against Washington at Husky Soccer Stadium in Seattle was a grinding stalemate from the start. The Huskies (9-3-2, 4-0-1) were the more aggressive players in the first half, outshooting Cal by an 8-2 margin.

The turning point came when Bears forward Stefano Bonomo was awarded two back-to-back yellow cards in the span of eight seconds. Without Bonomo — who leads the team in goals — at its disposal, Cal dug itself further in the defensive trench.

For the next 40 minutes, the Bears endured waves of Washington attacks. But two minutes from ending the match with a tie, midfielder Patrick Pacheco broke through and scored the match-winner.

“The team showed great resiliency the entire match,” Cal coach Kevin Grimes said. “We really deserved a tie.”

Two days later in Corvallis, Ore., the Bears couldn’t muster the same defensive concentration against Oregon State (6-5-2, 1-3-1) in the beginning minutes of the match.

In the 11th minute, the Cal defense coughed up the ball to the Beavers. Senior forward Emery Welshman, who led the conference with seven goals, capitalized on the blunder to give Oregon State the early lead.

But Cal rebounded in the next 10 minutes. Backup forwards Luis Fuentes and Michael Munoz, stepping in for the absent Bonomo,  scored in the 15th and 20th minute respectively to give the Bears the 2-1 lead.

In the 48th minute, midfielder Tony Salciccia connected a cross with forward John Fitzpatrick to pad the lead. The Beavers’ offensive responses from then until the final whistle were futile; Oregon State only managed to get three shots off in the second half.

After a weekend of unfulfilled expectations, Cal’s postseason hopes look slim. To have a chance at the NCAAs, the Bears will need to win at least three of their five remaining matches.

But all is not gloom and doom for Grimes and his program. With the much-needed return of senior defender Ted Jones from injury, the defensive unit reverted back to its stable starting lineup.

“When you can add a player of Jones’ quality, it would lift any team,” Grimes said.

Seung Y. Lee covers men’s soccer. Contact him at sylee@dailycal.org

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Andrew Kuo/Staff

The Bears outshot Arizona State by 10 goals and outscored the opponent by two.

The No 14. Cal women’s soccer team outshot the Sun Devils, 19-9, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. Friday’s win was the fifth straight conference victory and sixth straight overall win.

The 2-0 win also extended the Bears’ (12-3-0, 5-1-0 Pac-12) undefeated road streak.

“Apparently we can bring it when we are travelling, which is awesome,” said Cal goalkeeper Emily Kruger. “We definitely spend a lot of time together relaxing before games, and it’s a very focused environment.”

Though Cal pulled out the win, the Sun Devils (6-8-1, 2-4 Pac-12) were the ones who started on a hot streak. Kruger made six saves in the match, most of which came in the first 20 minutes. The Bears broke the game open in the 23rd minute when Celeste Boureille put in the first goal.

The team strung together passes, and midfielder Betsy Hassett played the ball wide to Ifeome Onumonu. Onumonu then beat her defender to round the corner and played the ball into the box.

“The ball came in from the air and (Boureille) received it with her chest with her back to the goal,” said Kruger. “After one bounce, she turned and half-volleyed it into the upper corner. It was unbelievable.”

That goal seemed to spur the Bears, who struggled to find an offensive spark in the first 20 minutes. The squad controlled remainder of the match, and Kruger was relatively unchallenged.

The Sun Devils, on the other hand, were feeling the heat. In the 73rd minute, they replaced goalkeeper Chandler Morris with Liz Schulze. Cal’s Celeste Martore punished Arizona State for that substitution by taking advantage of the fresh hands in the net.

“She decided to fire a shot off from 30 yards out, and they had just made a goalkeeper change” said Kruger. “(Schulze) looked shocked. It was a solid shot and it just fell out of her hands.”

That goal brought the game to its final 2-0 score. The shutout was the Bears’ sixth on the season so far.

“We need to finish out all 90 minutes, and ASU had no chance of scoring at the end, which was pretty great to see,”said Kruger. “

The Bears’ offense also noted a milestone with the win. Cal boasts a deep team with an abundance of players who produce goals.

With Martore’s first career goal, Cal counts 14 different athletes who have recorded goals so far this season.

The Bears will look to that depth and versatility to carry them in the remainder of the season, just as it has already contributed to their current hot streak.

“Keeping the winning streak going was really crucial,” said Kruger. “By getting on a streak like that, where one game pushes you into the next one, getting another win perpetuates the energy we have now.”

Taylor Brink covers women’s soccer. Contact her at tbrink@dailycal.org

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