No. 11 Cal vs Arizona State
Thursday, Sep. 28 | 4 PM PT | Edwards Stadium | Berkeley, CA 
GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK

No. 11 Cal vs Arizona
Sunday, Oct. 1 | 1 PM PT | Edwards Stadium | Berkeley, CA
GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK

BERKELEY – Coming off a successful start to conference play on the road, the Cal women' soccer team (8-1-0, 1-0-0 Pac-12) looks to continue its momentum on home turf, welcoming Arizona State (4-4-1, 1-0-0 Pac-12)  and Arizona (4-2-2, 1-0-0 Pac-12) to Edwards Stadium. The Golden Bears will square off against the Sun Devils at 4 p.m. on Thursday afternoon before closing out the weekend with a 1 p.m. match against the Wildcats on Sunday.

Ranked No. 11 in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll, Cal enters Thursday's match on a six-game winning streak, the team's longest since 2014 and tied for the seventh-longest active winning streak in the nation. The ­­Golden Bears have five shutouts during that streak and have held their opponents to a total of just one shot on goal in their last three games combined. Cal leads the Pac-12 with a 0.44 goals against average this season while senior goalkeeper Emily Boyd ranks second in the conference with a .826 save percentage.

The Golden Bears opened Pac-12 play Saturday evening in Seattle, beating Washington, 1-0, behind a goal from midfielder Anja Koehler. It was the first collegiate goal for Koehler, who earned Pac-12 Offensive Player of ­­the Week honors for her effort. Koehler is the fifth Cal player to earn a conference weekly award in 2017, the most by any team in the Pac-12 this season.

The Bears are unbeaten in five home matches this season, outscoring the opposition, 10-2, at Edwards Stadium. Cal looks to stay perfect in Berkeley while taking on Arizona State and Arizona squads that also began conference play in the win column. The Sun Devils opened Pac-12 play with a 2-1 win over Oregon State in Tempe. Arizona downed Oregon, 3-1, outshooting the Ducks 20-12.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Live stats will be available for both Thursday's and Sunday's matches. Fans can also keep up with the action by following the Bears' Twitter (@CalWSoc) and Instagram (@CalWSoc) accounts. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears got off on the right foot Saturday night, opening the conference campaign with a 1-0 victory over Washington at Seattle's Husky Soccer Stadium After a scoreless first 45 minutes, the Bears finally broke through in the opening stages of the second half, when Koehler found the back of the net in the 62^nd minute. Freshman midfielder Luca Deza sent a cross in from the right flank and that found Koehler making a back post run. The redshirt sophomore from Oceanside, California, volleyed it in to give the Golden Bears a 1-0 advantage.

Cal's defense held strong, recording its third consecutive shutout and limiting the Huskies to just one shot on frame. The Golden Bears' defense has allowed just one goal in the last 557 minutes of play and handed the Huskies their first loss since August 27. With the win, Cal leveled the all-time series with Washington at 13-13-1 and won its conference opener for the third time in the last four seasons.
 
SCOUTING THE SUN DEVILS
Thursday's match will be the 21^st meeting all-time between the Golden Bears and Sun Devils, with Cal holding a 13-4-3 edge in the series. Cal has won the last six meetings between the teams, its longest active winning streak against any conference foe. However, this will be just the fourth time in the last ten seasons that the teams have squared off in Berkeley, and the first since a 2-1 victory at Edwards Stadium on October 4, 2013.

Arizona State has won three of its last four matches and is coming off a 2-1 win over Oregon State on Friday evening. The Sun Devils took the lead in the 51^st minute behind a goal from Jemma Purfield and doubled their advantage 30 minutes later behind a goal from Christina Edwards.

A transfer from South Alabama, Purfield leads the Sun Devils with nine points this season on three goals and three assists. Four other players have multiple goals this season for Arizona State, while Jazmarie Mader, the team's leading scorer in 2016, is tied for the team lead with three assists. Freshman Nikki Panas has seen the majority of minutes in goal this season, posting two shutouts to go with a .810 save percentage.

Picked to finish 11^th in the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches' Poll, Arizona State returns 18 letterwinners and eight starters from last year's squad that went 1-9-1 in Pac-12 play. Head coach Graham Winkworth is in his first season in Tempe, having spent the previous four seasons at South Alabama.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Arizona enters the weekend on a three-game winning streak, posting victories over Texas Tech, BYU, and Oregon. The Wildcats were victorious in their Pac-12 home opener, beating the Ducks, 3-1, on Saturday evening. Senior midfielder Cali Crisler assisted two goals for the Wildcats while sophomore Samantha Falasco tallied the game-winning goal in the 48^th minute.

Crisler leads Arizona with five points on five assists this season while Falasco and Gabi Stoian, an NSCAA All-Region selection in 2016, have a pair of goals each. Junior goalkeeper Lainey Burdett has played every minute for the Wildcats this season, recording three shutouts.

Arizona will face No. 2 Stanford on Thursday evening before traveling to Berkeley for Sunday's match. Cal leads the all-time series between the schools 15-4-3, but the Golden Bears have just one win in their last five meetings. Two of the last three meetings between the teams have gone to overtime, including a 2-1 double overtime victory for the Wildcats last season in Tucson.

NEXT UP
Cal heads back on the road next weekend, traveling to the mountain states for tilts against Colorado and Utah. The Buffaloes and Bears will meet at 2:30 pm PT on Thursday, October 5, a rematch of last season's double-overtime thriller. Cal will take on Utah at 1 p.m. PT on Sunday, October 8. Both matches will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks.

2017 TICKETS
Tickets are now available for sale for the 2017 Cal women's soccer season. Admission is $10 for adults,$5 for seniors, and $5 for youth. Cal students receive free admission and entry is free for ages 17 and below Monday through Thursday. For more information on tickets, call the Gold Standard Sales and Service line at (800) GO BEARS (462-3277) or visit the CalBears.com ticket page.

STAY POSTED
Keep up-to-date on the Golden Bears throughout the year by following the team on Twitter (@CalWSoc), Instagram (@CalWSoc), and Facebook (Facebook.com/CalWSoc).