BERKELEY – California's season opener became a hallmark win and gave a solid glimpse of things to come from the Golden Bears on the pitch in 2017.

Sophomore Abi Kim, who recorded three goals during her entire freshman campaign, netted a brace Friday evening at Edwards Stadium that served UC Irvine a 2-1 loss in a breakout performance for the returnee.

"It was really exciting because it was our first game," said Kim, who was named to the All-Pac-12 Freshman Team a season ago. "It felt good to start off the season with two goals."

Kim's fancy footwork and perfect positioning highlighted the game as she chipped in the game winner in the 69' after the ball slipped through Anteater goalkeeper Maddie Newsome's legs to hit the post where the Bear tapped it in.  

The Vashon, Wash. native, opened scoring in the 19' with an assist from Emma Westin to move ahead 1-0. This time, Kim drew out the goalie as she dribbled into the box and found a perfect angle into the right corner.

UCI responded with an equalizer when Jessica Miclat converted a 32nd-minute penalty kick, but Cal's aggressiveness edged its opponent.

"It was really fun," said Kim, who nearly scored a hat trick. "I'm excited to see where this season takes us because we have a really good team this year; we're really deep. The coaches have been saying that we have a lot of talent and I think we can go really far this year."

While the victory was sweet for Kim and her teammates, it proved one for the books for head coach Neil McGuire, marking his 125th win at Cal to become the program's all-time wins leader. McGuire, now in his 11th season at the helm, boasts a win percentage of .646 and has led the team to the NCAA tournament in each of the last 10 seasons.

"You have to be excited when you're starting off with a nice victory against a very good team," said McGuire, who has an overall record of 125-63-25 at Cal. "Irvine had a great game plan and took away some of the things we do well and they were very dangerous. They had a couple of goal scoring opportunities. We have a lot to work on and I think the players recognize that and we'll get back to work tomorrow."

The Bears are back at Edwards Stadium Sunday as they host Santa Clara at 1 p.m. (PT).

To keep up with Cal women's soccer, follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @CalWSoc.