April 9, 2010

Box Score

EUGENE, Ore. - Vail Horn led all scorers with four goals to power California to a 12-5 road victory and its first conference win of the season over Oregon on Friday night at Pape' Field. The Golden Bears rebounded from a 3-2 halftime deficit to outscore the Ducks, 10-2, in the second half. Cal improved its record to 4-8 (1-3 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation), while Oregon fell to 5-8 (1-1 MPSF).

Oregon had the edge in a few categories at halftime, when the Ducks held its 3-2 lead. The home team had outshot Cal, 13-7 and had a 5-1 edge in draw controls in the first 30 minutes

The Bears' only goals came from Horn, who scored 22 seconds into the first half, and from sophomore midfielder Lauren Johnson, who struck at 13:47.

But Cal turned things around in the second half, as Cal opened the final period on fire, scoring seven straight goals to take a 9-3 lead. The run included two goals from Horn, two from sophomore attacker Tara Arolla, and one apiece from Humphrey, senior midfielder Alex Tickner and junior midfielder Emily Abbood.

"The beginning of the second half we got a couple of draws," Cal head coach Theresa Sherry said. "The draws sparked a couple of fast breaks, and the girls were moving the ball really well. We tied 6-6 on draws in the second half, and even when we weren't getting draws, we were still getting the ball back quickly. We were able to pull fast breaks for a lot of the game. That's how Alex Tickner, Vail Horn and Tara Arolla scored, off of fast breaks.

"And the girls were really much smarter in attack in the second half. We were forcing it and not finding our rhythm in the first half. The credit goes to them. The players on the field were the ones who finally executed what the coaches were trying to get them to do. It was fun to see them do that."

After Kaitlyn Pasko scored two straight for the Ducks to cut the lead to 9-5, Cal scored the last three goals of the game. Horn struck at 56:54, senior Alyse Kennedy converted an eight-meter shot at 58:37 and sophomore attacker Allie Welsh scored at 59:39 to make the final score 12-5.

Cal junior goalkeeper Allie Shropshire made four of her nine saves in the second stanza.

"Vail Horn had a huge impact, with draw controls, getting caused turnovers and getting ground balls in addition to her goals, which were great," Sherry said. "She scored a couple in the second half at crucial times. She was a real spark for us and was consistent, which we were looking for from her all season.

"Tara Arolla is another one who's a workhorse, and she finished a couple great goals. Alex Tickner sparked some fast breaks with her ball carrying. Melissa Humphrey has been stepping up and is a great option for us. She's playing like an upperclassman. She plays well in the attack, hustles in the midfield and her defensive stops have been game changing as well."

The Bears return to action when they play at Albany on April 16 and at Vermont on April 18.

GAME SUMMARY

	        1	2	F
California	2	10	12
Oregon	        3	2	5

California Scoring
Goals: Vail Horn 4; Tara Arolla 2; Melissa Humphrey 1; Alyse Kennedy 1; Allie Welsh 1; Lauren Johnson 1; Alex Tickner 1; Emily Abbood 1. Assists: Tara Arolla 1; Alyse Kennedy 1; Alex Tickner 1.

Oregon Scoring
Goals: Kaitlyn Pasko 2; Bina Barrett 1; Maggie Kovacs 1; Alex Breiner 1. Assists: Jana Drummond 1.

Goalkeeping
California: Allie Shropshire, 10 saves, 5 GA, 60:00. Oregon: Salliebeth Finnegan, 8 saves, 12 GA, 60:00.

Att.: 256.