BERKELEY --- The unblemished home record of the No. 12 California women's soccer team remained intact after its 4-0 shutout victory over the UC Davis Aggies Sunday afternoon at Goldman Field.

Cal (6-2) put together arguably its best offensive performance of the season to improve to 4-0 at home and bounce back from its loss at Saint Mary's on Friday. The Golden Bears posted a shot differential of +21 (22 shots to 1), matching its season high from its 2016 opener against Cal Poly. Against UC Davis (3-4-1), Cal was more effective with its chances as the team scored three more goals than it did against Cal Poly on fewer total shots (22 vs 26 against CPU) and shots on goal (10 vs. 11).

"I like the way that the team responded after Friday's match. We played a well-organized UC Davis team and the girls played hard for each other and their effort produced a great result," head coach Neil McGuire said postgame. 

Four different players found the net for the Bears: junior Annia Mejia & freshman Abigail Kim bookended the match with their first goals of the season while senior Arielle Ship & sophomore Miranda Nild scored Cal's middle goals for their second of the year.

Mejia got Cal on the board first in the 21st minute after turning a corner kick set piece into points. After having her first shot off redshirt junior Kelly Fitzgerald's corner kick saved, Mejia corralled the rebound and made the most of her second chance in the box

The Aggies were whistled for a foul in the box within the first two minutes of the second half and Ship was called upon to convert the resulting penalty kick. After missing her first try against Cal Poly, Ship easily sank her attempt (47') to give the Bears a 2-0 lead.

Nild expanded Cal's edge to 3-0 in the 63rd minute and Kim set the final margin in the match's waning moments. Taking a shot from the goalie's left side, Nild took a low driving shot that beat the keeper to the same side and into goal. For Kim (90'), the first goal of her career came after a wild sequence in front of the net that saw her take three shots in a few seconds' time.

Cal's fourth home win saw the team double its home goal production at Goldman after the Bears recorded four goals in their previous three home contests. In addition, the Bears seem to be hitting a consistent offensive stride - Cal scored four total goals in its first four games combined before hitting that total twice in the last four.

All four home victories have come via shutout, giving junior goalkeeper Emily Boyd and the Golden Back defensive unit a current home shutout streak of 360 minutes.

OTHER NOTES
In remembrance of the 15th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, both teams met at the midfield circle during the National Anthem in a sign of unity and togetherness...Former Golden Bear Grace Leer, an accomplished singer, performed the Anthem prior to the game. 

"It's always important to have perspective, that what we are able to do [play a soccer match] is a very small part of the world," McGuire said in reflection on the game and playing it on September 11. "Even thoug Cal and UC Davis were opponents on the field, we stood together as Americans first."

 

Before the game, both teams took a moment to reflect and remember those we lost on September 11, 2001 #NeverForget pic.twitter.com/MnmPZ6qTSF

— Cal Women's Soccer (@CalWomensSoccer) September 11, 2016

NEXT UP
Cal will play the second of five straight home matches on Friday, September 16 at 2 p.m. against the University of San Francisco. The match will be broadcast on Pac-12 Network.