Oct. 17, 2010
Final Stats
BERKELEY - It was another scoreless first half of play for the California women's soccer team, this time against Washington State, on a rainy Sunday afternoon at Edwards Stadium. Yet, it was the end result that truly mattered, and the Golden Bears scored twice in the second half to earn a 2-0 victory over the Cougars. Cal evened its Pac-10 Conference record at 2-2-0 and improved to 7-3-4 overall while WSU fell to 6-9-0 and 1-3-0 in the Pac-10.
Icelandic national team member Katrin Omarsdottir struck first in the 51st minute, and U.S. senior national team member Alex Morgan finished the scoring at 66:19. Sophomore forward Sam Walker assisted on Omarsdottir's goal while senior defender/midfielder Megan Jesolva crossed the ball into Morgan.
For the second consecutive game, the Bears turned in an ameliorated performance in the second half as compared to the first. Cal outshot the Cougars, 6-3, in the final 45 minutes as opposed to the 5-4 WSU shot advantage in the first half.
"I thought in the first half, we were playing a little frantically - we weren't keeping the ball as well as we had hoped for," Cal head coach Neil McGuire noted. "In the second half, I thought we did a much, much better job of controlling the ball and making Washington State chase. When that happened, they wore down, which allowed us some chances on goal."
During the halftime break, the team discussed offensive changes for the second half, which worked out in its favor. One of those key modifications was for Walker to penetrate more and get around WSU's left back. This strategy proved absolutely spot on in her first run.
Walker crossed the ball in from the far side to Omarsdottir, who was unattended on the near side. Omarsdottir utilized a side bicycle kick to knock in the gamewinner at 50:49.
"Walker served a great ball," McGuire said. "Katrin had an incredible finish. It was strange to see that because Katrin has been working on that play for quite some time. It was awesome to watch her finish like that."
The Bears were again on the offensive in the 66th minute. Morgan crossed the ball from the left side to sophomore forward Miranda White. In her attempt to receive and shoot, White slipped on the sodden terrain, and the opportunity slipped by the Bears.
But all was not lost by any means. Soon thereafter, Jesolva collected the ball and crossed it to Morgan on the near side. Morgan tucked it away into the back left corner, distancing the Bears, 2-0.
"I was just around the goal, we were trying to keep it in the final third," Morgan said. "It came out to Megan, she had a great cross, and I just finished it."
With 16:33 to play, Morgan looked to add another. White took the ball down the left sideline and passed it to Morgan, whose shot went just wide past the right post.
Washington State refused to go down without a right. From 79:10-82:09, the Cougars earned three corners and took two shots but could not find enough foot for a score.
Both Morgan and Omarsdottir finished the game with three shots apiece. Sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Hein improved to 3-0-1 between the goals with her shutout, making four saves. On the Cougar side, Ariana Byrd falls to 1-3-0 with her two allowed goals but made two stops in 90 minutes of play.
With the win against Washington State, not only did Cal stop a two-season losing skid to the Cougars but also to the Washington schools since the Bears defeated Washington, 3-2, on Friday. Cal is now 12-6-3 in the all-time program record with the Cougars. Omarsdottir's goal was her first of the season while Morgan's was her 14th. Already in third place in career points, Morgan now has 106. Her score moves her from fourth place to a tie with Tucka Healy for third place on the career goals list with 45. Jesolva needs one more assists to move into a three-way tie for fourth on the Cal career list at 18. Currently, she has 17.
Prior to kickoff, the Bears and fans honored Morgan for it the match was her final home game in a Cal uniform. Morgan is one of 20 players named to the U.S. senior national team roster for the 2010 CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying tournament. Morgan departs shortly for the tournament, which will occur Oct. 28-Nov. 8 in Cancún, Mexico.
"I didn't think I'd get too emotional but in the beginning of the game, I was," Morgan said of her senior day. "I'm glad we got the win, I'm really excited about that. A little sad but I'll be back for the NCAA Tournament."
The Bears have five more regular season games before the NCAA Tournament selections will be made. Cal travels to the desert next weekend for a Friday, Oct. 22 match at Arizona in Tucson and will make its way to Tempe for the Sunday, Oct. 24 game against Arizona State. McGuire and his Bears are not satisfied just yet with their play.
"We just have to make better decisions with the ball," McGuire responded when asked about what improvements Cal needs to make. "We have to know when to attack in the back space and when to keep it in the midfield. If our turnover ratios remains as high as they are, we're going to give teams a chance to compete against us."
Cal next returns home for the Bay Area Derby on Saturday, Oct. 30. The annual grudge match against the No. 1 Cardinal kicks off at 3 p.m. at Edwards Stadium and is free to attend.
