March 14, 2009

Box Score

BERKELEY - California lost to Vermont, 15-11, in a nonconference game on a cold, overcast Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. Vermont bolted out to a 5-0 lead, and the Golden Bears could not recover. Cal junior attacker Catie O'Mahoney scored a hat trick in her first start of the season and senior attacker Sam Price added four assists for the Bears, whose record fell to 4-5. The Catamounts' record improved to 4-3.

Vermont's Kristen Millar led all scorers with five points (3 goals, 2 assists). Lindsey Hegarty added three goals and Allison Pfohl had two goals and one assist.

Sophomore goalkeeper Allie Shropshire made 11 saves in relief of senior starter Morgan Dyson, who made one save in 8:31 of action. Vermont goalie Olivia Hatfield made six saves in a complete-game effort.

The Catamounts aided their quick start by winning the first four and five of the first six draw controls. This is the second straight game in which Cal fell behind quickly, including an 8-1 setback in the early going against William and Mary on March 11 in Berkeley.

"We're still having a slow start," Cal head coach Theresa Sherry. "We are plagued by injuries right now, but that shouldn't be a factor in the first five minutes of the game. We're trying to make changes at practice. But the strange thing is we look really good at practice and then we come out here and we can't seem to get up for these first few minutes of the game. It's really tough, especially when we're short to come back. We just don't have the legs to come back."

Against Vermont, Cal surrendered two goals in less than two minutes, as Pfohl scored the first at 1:03 and Sara Buxton struck at 1:27. A pair of Sarah DeStefano goals sandwiched around a Millar strike gave the Catamounts its 5-0 lead at 6:44.

Cal rebounded by outscoring Vermont, 6-3, the rest of the half thanks in part to Vermont fouls. Four of Cal's six first-half goals came off eight-meter shots. Freshman attacker Tara Arolla converted her eight-meter shot at 8:31 for Cal's first goal. Junior midfielder Alex Tickner scored an unassisted goal at 9:35. Arolla scored on another eight-meter shot at 10:30, and Cal trailed, 5-3.

The Catamounts' Megan MacDonald scored soon after at 10:57 to make the score 6-3.

Catie Izzo fouled O'Mahoney at 15:15 to set up O'Mahoney's eight-meter shot, which she converted at 15:19 to cut Vermont's lead to two goals at 6-4.

Vermont pushed the lead back to four on goals by Pfohl (16:47) and Hegarty (18:04), making the score 8-4.

Neither team scored for more than nine minutes. Cal continued to chip away at the lead, when Price assisted on junior attacker Tighe Hutchins' goal at 27:30. Vermont's Jessie Phillips fouled junior defender DennaFaye Herald to set up Herald's eight-meter goal at 29:41.

The Catamounts took an 8-6 lead into the break.

The shot totals were event at 17-17 at halftime and the fouls were close, with Vermont making 16 and Cal 15 in the first half. The Bears had a 14-12 advantage on ground balls. Vermont had a 9-6 edge on draw controls.

Cal pulled within one goal of the Catamounts three times in the second half, on O'Mahoney's goal at 31:26 to make the score 8-7, on freshman midfielder Vail Horn's goal at 37:07 to make the score 9-8 and on Horn's eight-meter goal at 39:46 to make the score 10-9. Price assisted on both goals.

But Vermont responded each time with a goal (Millar twice at 33:42 and 37:56 and Alison Haigh once at 42:09). Haigh's goal put the Catamounts ahead, 11-9.

Vermont scored the next three goals (Samantha Stern at 44:23, Hegarty at 46:35 and Stern at 48:19) to take a 14-9 lead.

Price set up Elizabeth T Jahp at 49:04, Hegarty scored at 51:34 and O'Mahoney converted an eight-meter shot to make the final score 15-11.

While Cal managed to settle down on draws - with a 7-6 edge - in the second half, Vermont outshot Cal, 18-9, in the final period.

Cal next plays at Notre Dame at 10 a.m. PT on Sunday, March 22, in South Bend, Ind.

GAME SUMMARY

		1	2	F
Vermont	         8	7	15
California	6	5	11

Vermont Scoring
Goals: Millar, Kristen 3; Hegarty, Lindsay 3; Pfohl, Allison 2; Stern, Samantha 2; DeStefano, Sarah 2; MacDonald, Megan 1; Haigh, Alison 1; Buxton, Sara 1. Assists: Millar, Kristen 2; Pfohl, Allison 1; Stern, Samantha 1.

California Scoring
Goals: Catie O'Mahoney 3; Vail Horn 2; Tara Arolla 2; Alex Tickner 1; Elizabeth T Jahp 1; DennaFaye Herald 1; Tighe Hutchins 1. Assists: Sam Price 4.

Goalkeeping
Vermont: Olivia Hatfield, 6 saves, 11 GA, 60:00. California: Morgan Dyson, 1 save, 5 GA, 8:31; Allie Shropshire, 11 saves, 10 GA, 51:29.

Records: Vermont 4-3. California 4-5.

Att.: 468.