Cal Races for a Postseason Bid in Bay Area Derby

In 2007, the Stanford women's soccer team ended Cal's season.

After 110 minutes of physically brutal play and eight rounds of penalty kicks, the top-seeded Cardinal closed the door on the Bears' campaign in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

This year, the Cardinal (17-1-1, 7-1 in the Pac-10) may not have to wait until the tournament to end their most heated rival's campaign, as the two are set to face off in the Bay Area Derby on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Edwards Stadium.

Cal (10-7-1, 3-4-1), who has not missed a tournament since 2003, is in serious danger of being overlooked come Monday when the selections are announced.

"We never expected to be in this position," senior co-captain Valerie Barnes said. "But that's what you get for not finishing games. We really can't lose those games because they'll hurt us in the end. And they have."

This season, the Bears have been unable to grasp wins on the road, going 0-6 on their three weekend roadtrips, and as a result they are now hoping for an at-large bid to the tournament.

Last weekend, Cal was held scoreless on its roadtrip against No. 2 UCLA and No. 9 USC, while giving up five goals in the process.

"Our recent run of results shows that we are not the hot hand right now," Bears coach Neil McGuire said. "So it is important that we get this win to show that we are able to compete at that level."

Fortunately for Cal, a win against Stanford, who is ranked third in the NCAA's RPI, could garner that coveted bid.

The Cardinal have been explosive on frame, as they have blown up their opponents for an incinerating 59 goals this season. And as for the Stanford backline, it has only let its foes create a few sparks, totaling a mere seven goals.

"On paper they have done better than us, they look stronger than us, and have a better record than us," Barnes said. "But that's on paper. They still have to come out and play on Saturday, and Stanford is just another team that we have to beat."

Historically speaking, only one result separates the two teams in the all-time tally, as Stanford has 12 wins to the Bears' 11. The matches have ended in a draw on four occasions, twice in as many years.

Not only will this be a payback game for last year, it is also soccer's version of the Big Game.

And if the emotions won't be running high enough, Saturday also marks the last time that the seniors will get to play at home and possibly their last game of their collegiate careers.

"This is the game we need to win," senior Torrey Delaplane said. "If we can't get the motivation to play with all of these emotions, especially that it could be our last game, then I don't know what is going to motivate us."

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