FH10/4/2008 12:00 PM | By: Cal Athletics

No. 15 Cal Defeats Pacific, 3-0

Oct. 4, 2008

BERKELEY - Carolina Bistue scored her third game-winning goal of the season and Natalie Nurnberg added two goals to give No. 15 California 3-0 victory over visiting Pacific on Saturday afternoon at Maxwell Family Field. Bistue, a senior defender, scored in a close first half, while Nurnberg, a sophomore forward, scored both her goals in the second half against the Golden Bears' NorPac Conference opponent. Cal improved its record to 8-2 (4-0 NorPac), while the Tigers fell to 1-9 (0-1).

Today's result gives Cal a pair of 3-0 wins over Pacific this season; the Bears beat Pacific in a non-conference game on Aug. 30 in Stockton, Calif.

A 12th-minute penalty corner set up Bistue's goal. Senior forward Kellie York took the corner from the left side and passed the ball to senior defender Rachel Moffitt, who made the stick stop. Bistue fired from just inside the circle to beat Pacific goalkeeper Christina Niccum and give Cal a 1-0 lead, which it eventually took into halftime.

Pacific, coming off a 7-0 loss to Stanford, stayed in the game in the first half in part due to Niccum's five saves in the first 35 minutes. The sophomore made 10 saves for the game, as Cal outshot the Tigers, 15-4.

Cal also led 1-0 at halftime of its previous match, which the Bears eventually won, 5-1, over Northwestern on Sept. 28.

"When I look over the last few games, we're not doing enough in the first half and we seem to get on track in the second half," Cal head coach Shellie Onstead said. "That's really dangerous to play that way. We have to do more in the first half."

Nurnberg gave Cal some breathing room with her first goal in the 53rd minute. Bears senior midfielder Gwen Belomy carried the ball to the circle and passed to Nurnberg on her left. As Nurnberg forged closer to the endline, she shot to her right from a difficult angle to beat Niccum and give Cal a 2-0 lead.

"She's really coming into her own," Onstead said of Nurnberg. "She's gaining confidence. She's getting to be one of those players who's exciting to watch when she gets the ball. That's nice."

In the 69th minute, Nurnberg scored her second after an assist by sophomore midfielder Megan Psyllos.

Bears senior goalkeeper Kelly Knoche made two saves in 70 minutes.

Cal returns to action next week when it hosts another NorPac foe, Davidson, at 1 p.m. on Oct. 11 at Maxwell Family Field.

GAME SUMMARY

Goal Summary
Cal -