April 5, 2000

BERKELEY, Calif. - California was on top of its offense Wednesday, capturing an 18-12 victory over visiting Denver University in a high-paced afternoon duel inside Memorial Stadium. Junior midfielder Sarah Wheatley broke loose with a seven-goal performance while sophomore midfielder Laura Kado added three.

Freshman attacker Britni Must put the Bears on the board early with the first of her two goals for the day just 1:13 into the contest on an assist from junior midfielder Alana Dunnigan. Must would scored again just 4:15 minutes later and then assisted on the first of Wheatley's seven goals 50 seconds after that, leading to a 3-1 California (7-5 overall, 2-2 in the WWLL) lead with 23:42 left in the first half.

"The biggest change we've made is with the transition," said California head coach Jill Malko. "That's something we've struggled with in the past but we've really improved on that and executing well off our set offense."

With 18:48 remaining in the first half, senior defender Carrie Scribner stepped up to the plate, again showing her offensive prowlness with the first of her two goals against Denver (2-8 overall) to break a momentary tie and hand the Bears a 4-3 lead. That goal would spark an 8-3 California run over the remainder of the first half, including a 7-0 Golden Bears streak lasting for 13:41 minutes. With that offensive punch, the Bears were able to secure an 11-6 halftime advantage.

"One of the things that helped us was being able to control the draws," said Malko. "Laura Forrest did a really good job controlling those draws today. Doing that helps set up the fast break opportunities and creates those overload situations."

But for all of California's 18 goals during the afternoon, it was freshman midfielder Emi Tomijima's second half opening score that drew the most enthusiasm from the Bears' bench. The defensive stalwart threw in her first collegiate goal just 1:29 into the second frame to double up the Pioneers 12-6.

"That was awesome," said Malko. "Emi has shown a lot of improvement, and that's from gaining confidence. She's really showing that she can play at this level and starting now to find her offensive groove."

California returns to action this Saturday, April 8, against Whittier College inside Memorial Stadium at 3 p.m.

GOALS: Cal - Wheatley 7, Kado 3, Must 2, Scribner 2, Dunnigan 1, Forrest 1, Monger 1, Tomijima 1, Denver - Bodick 4, Cook 3, Hovey 3, Spry 2. ASSISTS: Cal - Dunnigan 3, Must 3, Forrest 1, Tomijima 1, Denver - Bodick 1, Jarrett 1. SAVES: Cal - Coelho 15, Denver - Hazard 15. SHOTS: Cal 36, Denver 29.