March 15, 2000

BERKELEY, Calif. - California proved to itself that it could come from behind and win a close game Wednesday, battling back from a 2-1 deficit at halftime to defeat visiting Longwood College 8-5 inside Memorial Stadium. Sophomore midfielder Laura Kado paced the Bears' comeback with three goals while junior midfielder Sarah Wheatley added a pair.

"We struggled in our close losses to Davis and Stanford," said California head coach Jill Malko. "As a team, we needed to know that we could be in a close game and win. Now they know they can do this, and that helps out their confidence a lot."

Longwood (1-4-1 overall) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before junior midfielder Alana Dunnigan struck with 1:29 left in the first half, recording her first goal of the season to send the Bears into halftime down 2-1.

But the second half was all California (3-2 overall, 1-2 in the WWLL). Kado nailed the tying goal off an assist from freshman midfielder Laura Forrest just 2:35 into the second stanza. Longwood would find a way to tie the game again minutes later, but that's when senior defender Carrie Scribner said enough was enough, blasting her third goal in as many games (and her third career goal at that) past Rachel Bunn with 23:06 left on the clock, tying the game at 3-3. The Bears would never trail again.

"The first half frustrated us," said Malko. "We just needed to get some confidence. We talked about playing our game, and it worked. I think this was the first game where I feel our attack recognized changes in the defense and immediately knew what to do."

Scribner's goal proved to be the first in a string of five for the Bears, with the next coming from a familiar face in Kado (team leading 10 goals) with 18:28 left to play, handing Cal its first lead of the day, 4-3. Wheatley would follow 2:24 minutes later off an assist from sophomore attacker Halsey Monger (team leading nine assists).

A mere 21 seconds later, Wheatley was at it again, scoring her second goal of the day unassisted to put Cal up 6-3. And that wasn't it, as 22 seconds after that junior midfielder Joelle LeMoult stepped into the spotlight with a goal of her own. Longwood would answer the California scoring streak three minutes later with a goal of its own.

With 4:39 remaining in the game, California recorded its final goal of the afternoon, again from Kado on an assist from LeMoult. Longwood would answer with 1:53 left on the clock, but it wouldn't be enough to make a difference, as the scoreboard was left displaying an 8-5 California victory when all was said and done.

California returns to action Saturday, March 18th, in a Western Women's Lacrosse League match-up with Saint Mary's College inside Memorial Stadium at 1:00 p.m.

"Saturday is a must win game for us," said Malko. "Saint Mary's is hugely improved from last year. It's a must win game for us because of our close losses to Davis and Stanford."

GOALS: Cal - Kado 3, Wheatley 2, Dunnigan 1, LeMoult 1, Scribner 1, Longwood - Denson 2, Hilbert 1, Smith 1, Beatty 1. ASSISTS: Cal - Forrest 1, LeMoult 1, Monger 1, Longwood - Beatty 1, Smith 1, Hilbert 1. SAVES: Cal - Coelho 7, Longwood - Bunn 11. SHOTS: Cal 34, Longwood 12.