May 2, 2008

Box Score

BERKELEY - California held an 8-7 lead over Oregon in the 46th minute of their MPSF Championship third-place game on an overcast Friday afternoon at Memorial Stadium, but the fourth-seeded Ducks scored the game's last two goals to claim victory over the second-seeded host.

The Golden Bears, who are not expected to receive an at-large bid to the 16-team NCAA Tournament, likely ended their season with a 9-9 record. Oregon, which is also not a strong contender to receive an at-large NCAA Tournament berth, likely ended its year with a 13-7 record.

"I'm proud of the way my team battled," Cal head coach Theresa Sherry said. "They battled all year. We had a better year than last year, and I'm just proud of everything. The kids were happy. The chemistry was great on the team, and it was really fun to watch them work hard and improve together."

Three of Cal's four seniors scored in what is probably their final game. Two of those seniors, attackers Brittany Aungier and Danni Zuralow, tied for game-high scoring honors with three points each (1 goal, 2 assists each). Senior midfielder Cristen Andrews scored one goal for the Bears.

Cal's fourth senior, midfielder Mary Downs, played the whole game for the Bears.

"The seniors drove the change on the team and they drove the improvement and the culture change on and off the field," Sherry said. "I just think there's been a real increase in commitment, and they were a huge part of the increase in the chemistry. I'm proud of the way they really drove the direction of this team. They leave a great legacy."

Junior goalkeeper Morgan Dyson made seven saves in 30 minutes of action in the second half for the Bears.

Jana Bradley (2 goals), Jen May (2 goals) and Ilsa van den Berg (1 goal, 1 assist) led the Ducks with two points each. Oregon goalie Anna Poponyak played 60 minutes and made six saves.

The Oregon defense kept Cal from scoring for more than 16 minutes, while the Ducks took a 3-0 lead on goals by May, off a free-position shot at 1:15, Jana Bradley (3:27) and Casey Record, also off a free-position shot at 14:46. Oregon scored three times off its first four shots of the game, while Cal was scoreless after its four shots. Poponyak was forced to save just one of those shots.

The Bears got on the board with Zuralow's free-position shot at 16:42 and then junior midfielder Ghillie Little scored off Aungier's assist at 23:02. Cal was within one goal of Oregon, at 3-2.

Alicia Burkhart (at 24:36) and Bradley (25:21) each scored to put Oregon ahead, 5-2, before Aungier set up sophomore midfielder Alyse Kennedy for a Cal strike at 25:59 to make the score 5-3.

The Ducks' Alex Breiner tallied an unassisted goal at 29:22 and Zuralow assisted on junior attacker Madeleine Dale's goal with seven seconds left in the first half. Oregon took a 6-4 lead into halftime.

A fired up Cal squad scored the first three goals of the second half to take a 7-6 lead. Sophomore midfielder Alex Tickner scored off a Zuralow assist at 32:42, junior defender Sam Price converted a free-position shot at 34:06 and Tickner set up Aungier for a goal at 38:15 for the Bears.

May struck with her second goal at 43:10 to knot the match at 7-7.

Andrews struck at 15:43 off a free-position shot to give Cal its last lead at 8-7. Oregon converted two straight free-position shots - by Ilsa van den Berg (48:47) and Jenny Browne (53:41) - to go ahead, 9-8.

Cal took four more shots - with one each by Tickner (at 57:09), Aungier (57:33), Zuralow (59:00) and Little (59:26) - but Poponyak saved all four to clinch the 9-8 victory for Oregon.

The MPSF Championship tournament concludes on Saturday with the final between top-seeded Denver and third-seeded Stanford at 1 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. This is the third straight year that Denver is the tournament's top seed and faces Stanford in the final. Stanford upset Denver in each of the last two years. The Cardinal has won three straight MPSF championships overall, with a 12-9 win over Cal in 2005, a 12-6 victory over Denver in 2006 and a 12-11 upset of the 15th-ranked Pioneers in 2007.

GAME SUMMARY

	         1	2	F
Oregon	         6	3	9
California	4	4	8

Oregon Scoring
Goals: Jana Bradley 2; Jen May 2; Ilsa van den Berg 1; Alicia Burkhart 1; Alex Breiner 1; Jenny Browne 1; Casey Rector 1. Assists: Lindsay Killian 1; Ilsa van den Berg 1.

California Scoring
Goals: Danni Zuralow 1; Brittany Aungier 1; Alex Tickner 1; Ghillie Little 1; Sam Price 1; Alyse Kennedy 1; Cristen Andrews 1; Madeleine Dale 1. Assists: Brittany Aungier 2; Danni Zuralow 2; Alex Tickner 1.

Goalkeeping
Oregon: Anna Poponyak, 6 saves, 8 GA, 60:00. California: Allie Shropshire, 1 save, 6 GA, 30:00; Morgan Dyson, 7 saves, 3 GA, 30:00.

Records: Oregon 13-7. California 9-9.