Andrew Peng/Staff

“I’ve told the players I’m very proud of them because no one has been able to break us so far,” said Cal women’s soccer head coach Neil McGuire after Friday’s USC matchup extended the Bears’ undefeated streak to 13 games.

Unfortunately for the No. 8 Bears, No. 2 UCLA did break through the steely Cal defensive line to hand the Bears their first loss of the season Sunday.

Cal’s demanding weekend pitted the Bears first against USC (5-6-2, 0-3-1 Pac-12) on Friday. The Trojans’ second-half equalizer forced a double-overtime showdown before it resulted in yet another tie for the Bears. Cal (9-1-4, 2-1-2 Pac-12) bounced back from its fourth double-overtime tie of the season to face second-ranked UCLA (12-1-1, 4-0-1 Pac-12)  to close out the weekend. The Bears could not overcome the 1-0 first-half deficit and succumbed to their first defeat of the season.

Sunday’s matchup set Cal against its highest-ranked opponent of the season. The Bruins fortified their ranking in the first half, forcing Cal goalkeeper Emily Kruger off her line often.

“In the first half, we were heavy-legged from the double-overtime game against USC, and we hadn’t recovered and we weren’t sharp,” said McGuire.

Eventually, the fast pace and the physicality paid off for UCLA, as a corner kick in the 27th minute proved rewarding. Bruin Rosie White sent the ball into the box from the right corner, sending Kruger diving left for a save. Amid the scramble, UCLA’s Sarah Killion got a foot on it, sending it back toward the right before Kruger could recover.

“We are all still a little confused,” Kruger said. “As that ball came across through the 18, I lost it in a muddle of people. Unfortunately for us, it popped out back the way I came from, and I didn’t get my eye on it until it had passed me.”

The goal gave the Bruins the 1-0 lead and cemented their stance as the dominant force in the first half. The Bears returned to the field rejuvenated and had UCLA on its heels in the second half.

Early in the second half, Cal midfielder Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick received the ball, turned and split two defenders under pressure and fired a long shot just over the crossbar. Later in the half, a Bear corner kick mirrored the Bruins’ goal in the first half, as UCLA goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland dove to the ground amid a scramble, resulting in another close chance for the Bears.

Despite the increased level of play, the Bears were unable to record an equalizer, and the Bruins emerged as the victors. The loss snapped Cal’s 13-game unbeaten streak and resulted in mixed emotions for the Bears.

“Today we came out and the result is a loss, but that performance in the second half is by and far the best we’ve played,” said Kruger. “We can see we have it in us … We are one of the best teams.”

Kruger’s optimistic view is tempered by her coach’s more grounded one.

“They are not happy with it,” said McGuire. “This team wants to win, and they want to win every game, so there are no moral victories no matter how well we played in the second half.”

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

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Matt Lee/File

With the state of Arizona conquered after wins against the Sun Devils and Wildcats, the No. 8 Cal women’s soccer team (9-0-3, 2-0-1 Pac-12) now turns its attention to Southern California. Having finally cracked the top-10 national rankings, Cal will look to get the better of USC (5-6-1, 0-3-0 Pac-12) and No. 2 UCLA (10-1-1, 2-0-1 Pac-12) and justify its position among the national elite.

The Bears take on a struggling USC at 3 p.m. Friday, followed by a highly anticipated clash against UCLA at 11 a.m. Sunday — both home games, both against formidable opponents and both sure to please fans looking for high-quality college soccer.

Although UCLA is certainly the more daunting of the two opponents the Bears face this weekend, Cal head coach Neil McGuire is emphasizing the first game, against USC. McGuire’s insistence on approaching the season one game at a time has kept his team grounded and focused even while it climbs the national rankings.

“Our focus is USC,” McGuire said. “They are a little wounded right now. They’ve had some tough results, but they have a great coach, and he’ll have them ready. So our mentality has to be right, our preparation has to be right and we’ll be as ready as we can be.”

Despite a No. 22 preseason ranking, the Trojans have struggled to impress thus far and find themselves in the midst of a four-game slide. Winless in the Pac-12 and yet to play conference powerhouses such as Stanford and UCLA, USC will be hoping to get its season back on track against the Bears.

McGuire identified USC’s attacking duo of senior Elizabeth Eddy and freshman Kayla Mills, who have combined for eight goals and five assists this season, as two key players Cal needs to pay attention to.

“Elizabeth Eddy is an extremely special talent up front, and Kayla Mills is a freshman who’s come in and is super talented and very dangerous, so we’ll do our best to deal with them both,” McGuire said.

Although Cal’s coaches and players may be focused on USC going into Friday afternoon’s game, the rest of the college soccer world has its attention on Sunday’s 11 a.m. kickoff against UCLA. The battle against the second-ranked Bruins will be Cal’s most challenging test of the season thus far, and it pits two of the country’s highest-scoring offenses against each other.

The UCLA attack is spearheaded by freshman phenom Darian Jenkins, a young striker from Riverton, Utah, who has started in all 12 of her team’s games this season and leads the squad with eight goals. Supporting Jenkins are sophomore forward Taylor Smith and junior midfielder Sarah Killion, each with six assists this season. All three have been involved at various levels of the United States youth national teams and are likely to give Cal’s defense fits Sunday afternoon.

The Bears will counter with a strong attack of their own, led by experienced playmaker Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick and sophomore center forward Ifeoma Onumonu. Onumonu, who has eight goals and two assists to her name so far this season, conceded after Cal’s most recent game that her team has “been struggling a little bit to keep intensity up throughout the whole game.”

The Bears will look to maintain a high level of intensity for all 90 minutes against UCLA, as a win would likely shoot Cal to a ranking among the top few teams in the nation.

Josh Netter covers women’s soccer. Contact him at jnetter@dailycal.org.

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Matt Lee/Staff

Two more games, two more wins and the unbeaten streak remains intact.

After a 2-1 victory over Arizona State on Friday, the No. 11 Cal women’s soccer team (9-0-3, 2-0-1 Pac-12) repeated that exact scoreline with a hard-fought win over the Arizona Wildcats (5-4-3, 0-3-0 Pac-12) on Sunday afternoon. With this pair of wins over the two Arizona schools, Cal maintained its unbeaten start to the season and bolstered its case for a top-10 national ranking.

Sporting pink jerseys in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and playing in front of more than 1,000 supporters at Edwards Stadium, Cal came out flying. In the fourth minute, a perfectly weighted through ball by Cal center back Nina Pedersen put forward Rachel Mercik in on goal, and the senior captain calmly slotted the ball into the bottom-left corner of the net to give her team an early 1-0 lead.

Cal continued to attack for the next 20 minutes and retained the grand share of possession, with Arizona managing a only couple of long-range shots that hardly bothered goalkeeper Emily Kruger. The Bears employed a direct style of play in the first half to combat Arizona’s high-pressure defending, a tactic that saw Cal’s defense playing a number of long passes over the top to the attacking trio of Mercik, Ifeoma Onumonu and Kory Lamet.

“If we possess the ball deeper, people are starting to press that, and so then we’re able to beat four or five of their players with one long entry pass,” said Cal head coach Neil McGuire. “We’re not playing long ball — we’re trying to play balls into our target strikers and work off of it.”

When asked about Cal’s first-half performance, McGuire boasted that during the “first 45 minutes, we played as good as we’ve played all season.”

Unfortunately for Cal, the halftime break seemed to kill its momentum, as just seven minutes into the second half, Arizona forward Jazmin Ponce tied the score with a phenomenal goal. With the ball at her feet and Cal defender Emi Lawson in front of her at the top of the box, Ponce skillfully beat Lawson and then curled a stunning strike into the top-right corner of the net that left Kruger stranded.

“The goal (Arizona) scored was a world-class piece of finishing,” McGuire said. “We should do a better job of defending that, but we have to tip our hat to a great goal.

With the game tied, Cal picked up the pace and looked set to regain the lead in the 61st minute when a blatant foul committed inside Arizona’s box gave match referee Daniel Radford no choice but to blow for a penalty kick. Onumonu stepped up to take the spot kick, but to everyone’s surprise, her shot went soaring over the crossbar.

After the game, Onumonu conceded she was very disappointed with the penalty.

“I was a little bit nervous because I don’t usually take penalties, but I knew I had to make up for it once I missed,” Onumonu said.

Luckily for Cal, the sophomore forward was able to do exactly that, as she scored the game-winning goal just 10 minutes later. After a nice bit of combination play with outside back Genessee Daughetee down the left side of the field, Onumonu made a darting run to the front post and redirected the defender’s low cross into the net to give Cal a 2-1 lead.

The Bears — yet to allow a goal in the second half of a game this season — smothered Arizona’s last few attacking efforts to close out the game and maintain their 12-match unbeaten streak.

After a grueling stretch of four games in nine days, Cal can finally take a breather before two tough games against USC and UCLA this coming weekend.

Josh Netter covers women’s soccer. Contact him at jnetter@dailycal.org.

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Kore Chan/File

Pac-12 competition is finally making its way back to the Bay. After a long offseason since conference play ended last season, the Bears are eager to kick off the first game of a five-game conference homestand this week.

No. 11 Cal women’s soccer will return to Edwards Stadium for a pair of games against the visiting Arizona schools. The Bears (7-0-3, 0-0-1 Pac-12) will take on Arizona State (6-3-0, 1-0-0 Pac-12) first with a 2 p.m. kickoff Friday. Cal returns to the pitch Sunday to host Arizona (5-2-3, 0-1-0 Pac-12) for a 1 p.m. game to close out the weekend.

The pair of home games offers the Bears the opportunity to extend their 10-game undefeated streak. With two more wins, Cal would match its 12-game streak from the 2000 season, when current Arizona State coach Kevin Boyd coached the Bears. Despite remaining undefeated, the Bears have yet to garner a Pac-12 win after returning from the conference opener at Utah with a tie.

“It’s obviously a really good feeling to be undefeated,” said junior midfielder Taylor Comeau. “I still think we are fighting for more because we have had quite a few ties.”

The tie against Utah puts Cal in the No. 4 spot in the conference standings, while Arizona State edges the Bears at the No. 3 spot after winning its conference opener in a last-minute nail-biter against USC. Arizona sits at No. 11 in the early Pac-12 season after losing its conference opener against UCLA. The Bears rebounded from the scoreless battle against Utah — in which Comeau believes temperature and altitude had the Cal squad feeling out of its element — and enter Friday’s game with a 3-0 win against San Francisco as fuel.

“I think Utah was the only game that we haven’t scored in this year, so it was good to get back into getting a good amount of goals and getting back into our rhythm,” Comeau said.

When the two squads faced off last October, the Bears topped the Sun Devils, 2-0. Despite that history, the Sun Devils may have the edge in momentum entering Friday’s game after snatching the win against USC in the final seconds of the game. The last-minute heroics earned Arizona State senior forward Devin Marshall Pac-12 Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week honors.

“The Arizona teams are usually pretty physical,” Comeau said. “They like to put pressure on you. I think the main thing is we need to stay focused. We have talked about making sure we keep possession, because we are a pretty big possession-oriented team, and we know if we keep the ball, most teams can’t really keep up with us for the full 90 minutes.”

The Wildcats head into the weekend hoping to emerge from an early-season slump. The squad has battled inconsistency this season and journeys to California with only two wins in its last seven games. However, the Wildcats did beat the Bears, 2-1, in their last meeting last September.

“It was a pretty big upset for us,” Comeau said. “We definitely don’t want anything like that again.”

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

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Kore Chan/File

Cal women’s soccer landed a perfect 10 with Monday’s 3-0 win over San Francisco.

With the win, the No. 11 Bears extended their undefeated streak into double digits.

Cal (7-0-3) may have had a sluggish start after the 7:00 p.m. game at the University of San Francisco’s Negoesco Stadium but showed off its offensive prowess in the later portions of the game. On the other hand, the Dons’ (5-4-2) offensive struggles continued, as they recorded their third consecutive game without scoring.

Both squads rallied chances in the first half as the momentum teeter-tottered between the two teams. Dons forward Mackenzie Krieser’s first-minute attempt threatened the Bears early. After receiving a cleared ball at the top of the Bears’ box, Krieser fired a long shot, only to have it deflect off the top right corner of the goal frame. Kreiser had a chance at redemption in the 10th minute, but her header also missed to the right.

Cal kept the pressure on the Dons by recording seven shots in the first half compared to the Dons’ five, with one finally reaching the scoreboard just as the half ticked to a close. Sophomore forward Celeste Martore assisted senior Kaitlin Fitzpatrick in the 43rd minute to break the stalemate. Fitzpatrick received Martore’s pass and deftly maneuvered through two Don defenders before sending a short shot past the outstretched fingers of San Francisco goalkeeper Madalyn Schiffel.

Bear goals bookended the halftime period, and Cal emerged from the break guns blazing to record the second goal of the match in the 52nd minute. This time, it was Fitzpatrick with the assist as forward Grace Leer notched her first goal of the season.

Cal completed the trifecta off of yet another Fitzpatrick assist in the 71st minute. Fitzpatrick’s pass found sophomore forward Ifeoma Onumonu, who took Schiffel on one-on-one and emerged victorious. The goal was Onumonu’s seventh of the season, making her the Bears’ top scorer thus far this year. Cal’s offensive efforts dominated the second half, as the Bears outshot the Dons 17 to six in the later 45 minutes.

On the other end of the field, Cal goalkeeper Emily Kruger recorded five saves and her fourth shutout of the season.

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

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Kore Chan/File

For the first time this season, Cal women’s soccer failed to score a goal.

However, the team did not allow one either, resulting in a a 0-0 tie that extended the Bears’ undefeated streak to nine games and gave the squad its best start in over a decade.

The No. 11 Bears (6-0-3) recorded their third tie of the young season against Utah (4-1-5) on Friday. The faceoff at Ute Field in Salt Lake City was Cal’s first Pac-12 test this year. The match ended in a scoreless stalemate, with defense dominating the day to extend Cal’s undefeated run. The Bears’ prevous, longer undefeated streak was 12 games in 2000.

Though neither team was able to rally much of an offensive effort, Utah did manage to outshoot the Bears in the first half, five shots to three. The Utes also managed to rally more corner kicks than the Bears, with three set chances from the flank compared to the Bears’ zero.

Cal turned things around in the second half, however, and gained an offensive upper hand. The Bears turned the tables on Utah, notching five shots to the Utes’ three. In the closing minutes of regulation, the Bears got their best chance of the match as sophomore forward Ifeoma Onumonu sent a rocket toward the net. But it clanged off the crossbar, dashing Cal’s hopes of a last-minute edge. Neither team was able to put the ball in the back of the net in the final seconds of the game, and the regulation period ended scoreless. Overtime ensued, during which the Bears sent two more shots toward the net. These two brought the total shot count to 10, nearly five fewer than the Bears’ average shots per game.

Ute goalkeeper Lindsey Luke saved Cal’s two overtime shots, and the game remained scoreless as the clock inched toward the 110-minute mark. The final whistle blew, forcing both teams to relinquish hopes of snagging the win and resigning them to tie.

With hopes of further extending their undefeated streak, the Bears will take the pitch again back in the Bay when they face San Francisco at Monday night’s 7:00 p.m matchup at USF’s Negoesco Stadium. The game is Cal’s final scheduled nonconference matchup of the season. The Dons (5-3-2) have won only one of their last five games and are struggling to generate offense, scoring only two goals in that span. Though San Francisco hosted the Bears at its tournament earlier this season, the two teams did not face each other.

In the previous faceoff between the Dons and the Bears, Cal defeated San Francisco 3-0. All three of last year’s goal scorers — Onumonu, Grace Leer, and Mekenna DeBack — returned to the Bears this season and are surely eager for another crack at the cross-Bay foes.

While the Dons have garnered a respectable record thus far this season, they have struggled to put numbers up on the scoreboard. The team averages approximately 11 shots per game, but averages fewer than than one goal a game. In contrast, the Bears are averaging nearly 15 shots and 2.2 goals per game.

If such trends continue, the Bears should have a clear upper hand heading into Monday evening’s game.

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

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Kore Chan/File

The No.12 Cal women’s soccer team (6-0-2) has faced Utah twice in the past two years, and it twice has emerged victorious.

After posting six wins and two ties against eight nonconference opponents in 2013, Cal travels to Salt Lake City looking to extend its winning streak against Utah (4-1-4) and get its Pac-12 campaign off to a winning start.

Despite being slated in preseason polls to finish ninth in the Pac-12, Utah could prove be a tricky tie for the Golden Bears. They bring back every player who scored or had an assist in 2012, and Utah coach Rich Manning’s squad also boasts two years of Pac-12 experience. Led by junior midfielder Katie Taylor and sophomore forward Baylee Nielsen up front and preseason All-Conference Team member Avery Ford in the back, the Utes will be formidable opponents.

Although Taylor and Nielsen lead Utah in scoring this season, Cal coach Neil McGuire insists he will not “spend a whole lot of time focusing specifically on individual players.”

“Our focus will be on keeping the ball and circulating it quicker, trying to take advantage of situations that arise,” McGuire said.

Cal plays an attacking brand of soccer based on quick passes and fluid movement between players, a style McGuire wishes to improve upon further. Despite McGuire’s emphasis on possession and finishing, stats show opposing defenses already struggle to deal with Cal’s potent offense, as the team is putting up an impressive average of 2.5 goals per game.

McGuire’s predilection to focus on the attack simply may be due to a lack of concern with his near-perfect defense, which is conceding an average of only 0.88 goals per game. According to McGuire, senior goalkeeper and team captain Emily Kruger — who has posted two shutouts and made 28 saves on the season — is “playing the best (he) has ever seen her play.”

Unfortunately for the Bears, Cal’s high-scoring offense may have to cope with the absence of senior forward and captain Rachel Mercik due to injury. Although Mercik dismissed a knee injury she sustained in last Sunday’s bout against St. Mary’s as “nothing too serious,” her coach may elect to err on the side of caution to ensure her availability for the remainder of the season.

The forward’s potential absence will be made up for by sophomore standouts Ifeoma Onumonu and Samantha Witteman, who lead Cal in scoring with six goals apiece. Witteman in particular will be on Utah’s radar as the squad prepares for the Golden Bears, as she is riding high after her hat trick against St. Mary’s on Sunday.

“Witteman is obviously providing a spark right now, and I’m really happy for her because last year she wanted to but didn’t get the opportunities I think she felt she deserved,” McGuire said.

Facing Cal’s dynamic offense and well-organized defense, the Utes will be in for a stiff test Friday night. To cope, Manning may field an extra midfielder to stack the center of the pitch and overwhelm Cal’s midfield trio. If he does pursue such a strategy, Cal will rely on its outside backs to get forward and provide width in the attack.

Regardless of who makes the lineup, what style is employed or how Utah responds, Cal will be zeroed in on maintaining its undefeated record and returning to the Bay Area with its first win of the Pac-12 season.

Josh Netter covers women’s swimming. Contact her at jnetter@dailycal.org.

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Kore Chan/File

After a difficult match at Santa Clara on Friday that ended in a hard-fought 1-1 draw, the No. 12-ranked Cal women’s soccer team (6-0-2) rebounded Sunday morning with a 4-2 victory over St. Mary’s College (3-7-0).

Cal coach Neil McGuire’s side came out in a 4-3-3 formation. Outside backs Genessee Daughetee and Celeste Martore stood out from the start, intercepting a number of St. Mary’s passes and getting forward well to support the Cal attack.

“Our outside backs like to get forward, so at times (our formation) almost turns in a 2-5-3,” McGuire said.

With Daughetee and Martore commanding the flanks and California’s midfield trio dictating the tempo from the get-go, Cal got on board with an early goal in the ninth minute. Sophomore forward Ifeoma Onumonu received a long throw-in, swiftly turned her defender and fired a Drogba-esque volley into the top-right corner of the net to give her team a 1-0 lead and boost her season tally to six.

Onumonu nearly put in a second goal in the 17th minute when she fought her way through a series of St. Mary’s defenders only to drive her low shot just wide of the net. A series of substitutions by both coaches followed, and in the 24th minute, Cal’s young forward had yet another chance to score, this time drilling her close-range shot directly at SMC goalkeeper Kaeli Schmidt, who saved it easily.

Sensing a second goal was within reach, Cal picked up its play, and in the 25th minute, the squad was rewarded. Taylor Comeau displayed her excellent technique and vision to play a nice ball out wide to an onrushing Samantha Witteman, who calmly slotted the ball into the upper-right corner of the goal.

Cal maintained its strong play through the end of the half and entered the locker room up 2-0. Goalkeeper Emily Kruger had not been bothered at all, aside from picking out a few stray corner kicks, and St. Mary’s was struggling to string passes together outside of its own defensive third.

The first 15 minutes of the second half saw a dramatic turnaround, as St. Mary’s players came out with a feistiness that was absent in the first 45 minutes. They scored two goals to tie the score and silence the nearly 500 fans in attendance, with Melinda Madden and Melissa Madrid scoring their first and second goals of the season, respectively. Madden’s long-range strike was especially impressive, flying into the top-left corner of the net just past the diving Kruger’s fingertips. With the score at 2-2, the outcome of the game was suddenly in question.

Witteman would ultimately come to Cal’s rescue, however, as the standout sophomore poked in two goals during the last 15 minutes of the game to regain her team’s lead and seal her first hat trick for the blue and gold. Her tap-in off of Schmidt’s save of a Comeau effort gave Cal a 3-2 edge, and her volley in the 81st minute off of a well-placed Daughetee cross guaranteed the victory.

Witteman worked in the offseason to improve her scoring ability, and she expressed excitement at her performance in front of goal after the game.

“I didn’t score any goals last season, so it’s been really awesome to score some this season,” Witteman said. “It feels awesome, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my teammates.”

With a number of strong attacking options at its disposal and a stiff defense anchored by senior captains Kruger and Emi Lawson, Cal’s undefeated streak seems unlikely to end anytime soon.

Josh Netter covers women’s soccer. Contact him at jnetter@dailycal.org.

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Kore Chan/File

The bout between the Bears and the Broncos lived up to its billing.

The faceoff between No. 12 Cal women’s soccer and No. 22 Santa Clara ended in a 1-1 tie after a 20-minute overtime period failed to produce a decider. The Broncos (4-2-1) are the first ranked team Cal (5-0-2) has faced this season, whereas the Bears are the fourth ranked opponent for Santa Clara. Both teams boasted strong records and an established rivalry heading into the game, making the matchup between the squads a highly anticipated battle of powerhouses.

Cal entered the game planning to start with strong offensive pressure. That game plan paid off when the Bears took the lead in the 25th minute. Sophomore forward Ifeoma Onumonu served a ball in to senior forward Rachel Mercik, who sent it past Bronco goalkeeper Andi Tostanoski and into the net. Mercik’s goal gave the Bears the lead heading into the half.

The lead stood through halftime and deep into the second half. As the half commenced, Cal did not let up, as Mercik fired a shot mere minutes after the whistle only to see it deflect off the goalpost, denying the Bears a cushion lead. Mercik and Onumonu were relentless up front, with each notching four shots. Santa Clara did not take the onslaught of Cal opportunities lying down, however, as the Broncos made it a proper shootout. In fact, Santa Clara outshot the Bears 27-14, with senior midfielder Julie Johnston and junior forward Sofia Huerta each piling up seven shots. Although the Broncos bested the Bears in total shots, Cal edged Santa Clara in accuracy, with seven of its 14 shots finding the goal frame, compared with 12 of Santa Clara’s 27 attempts.

The barrage kept both goalkeepers busy, as Tostanoski recorded six saves and Cal goalkeeper Emily Kruger recorded a career-high 11. The constant chances eventually paid off for the Broncos, as Kruger made a save only to have the deflection fall to Bronco senior forward Sarah Jackson. Jackson put the ball past Kruger for the equalizer.

The game remained tied 1-1 through the end of regulation, and overtime ensued. Neither team could score the game-winner in the next 20 minutes, causing the match to end in a tie after 110 minutes of play.

Though Cal had hoped for the win, the team succeeded in its goal of cementing itself as a legitimate force this season. Despite the respectable No. 12 ranking, the Bears remained relatively untested heading into the match. With a tie against another strong, ranked team, the Bears demonstrated they do belong among the elite squads competing this season.

This is the Bears’ second tie of the season, as they remain undefeated with yet another Bay Area battle looming on the horizon. Cal will face St. Mary’s on Sunday at 11 a.m. The game will be the Bears’ first home matchup of the season after a long stretch away from Edwards Stadium.

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Kevin Foote/File

The Bears will battle the Broncos in a Bay Area bout of behemoths.

No. 12 Cal women’s soccer will face its first ranked opponent of the season in No. 22 Santa Clara. The Bears (5-0-1) will take on the Broncos (4-2-0) on Thursday evening at Santa Clara’s Buck Shaw Stadium. The 7 p.m. kickoff will mark Cal’s return to the field after almost two weeks without a game. The Bears’ break may prove to have been opportune for the squad, as rested legs and extra prep time can only help when facing a perennially challenging team such as Santa Clara.

“I think we are all really excited to get back on the field,” said senior defender Emi Lawson. “I think that excitement is also in that we feel really prepared to tactically know what they are going to do and know how we are best going to break down their team and go out and get a win.”

Cal typically faces the Broncos at least once a season, with friendly scrimmages occasionally dropped into the schedule as well. In their last official meeting, Santa Clara topped the Bears, 1-0. The scrappy skirmish saw the Broncos cling to their first-half lead despite an onslaught of Cal shots. The Bears outshot the Broncos 16-3 but failed to clinch the equalizer. This year, Cal hopes to capitalize on the established familiarity between the teams and snag a win in its first significant challenge of the season.

“They are a great soccer team and have a front line with a powerful duo that is going to be a lot for us to handle,” Lawson said. “We have played them so often that we know each other really well, so it is going to come down to executing and making sure we are playing at our best on gameday.”

Just as in last year, the Bears slightly outrank Santa Clara. Unlike last year, Cal will head across the bay to take on the Broncos on their home turf. Furthermore, Cal has not yet played a ranked opponent this season, whereas Santa Clara has faced three, including a 2-0 loss to then-No. 1 North Carolina. The Bears remain relatively untested, while the Broncos started the season playing postseason-caliber matchups. Despite these potential disadvantages, Cal is not daunted. Instead, the Bears plan to pressure the Broncos’ defense from the onset in hopes of building an early lead.

“We have been there, and we are prepared to go there and win,” Lawson said, adding, “I expect that we are going to come out with a lot of high energy. We are going to try to get the ball forward early and test them.”

Much of this strategy stems from the aim of getting out ahead of the dynamic Santa Clara offense. Bronco forward Morgan Marlborough enters the Cal clash riding the momentum of a hat trick in her most recent game against Iowa State. The feat earned the senior West Coast Conference Player of the Week honors. Despite being faced with a talented offense, the Bears head into the game confident they can handle the challenge.

“There is no doubt that Santa Clara is going to be one of our toughest opponents this year,” Lawson said. “We are going into this game with the mentality that we are the better team.”

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

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