California Golden Bears Athletics
California
Sacramento State
Cal Sets Sights On Sacramento State
9/6/2017 9:30 PM | Women's Soccer
No. 24 Cal at Sacramento State
Friday, Sep. 8 | 2 PM PT | Hornets Field | Sacramento, CA
GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | LIVE STREAM | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK
BERKELEY – The Cal women's soccer team will play its final road game in non-conference play this Friday, visiting Sacramento State at 2 p.m. PT. The Golden Bears (4-1-0) are riding a two-match winning streak and look keep that momentum going on Friday, taking on a Hornets squad (3-2-0) that is coming off a 1-0 loss to Texas on Sunday in Sacramento.
Ranked No. 24 in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll, the Golden Bears are a perfect 3-0-0 at home this season and have split their two road contests, dropping a 1-0 decision at San Francisco before responding with a 2-0 win over UC Davis.
Friday's game marks the third meeting all-time between the programs and the first game of the series in Sacramento. The all-time series is tied at 1-1-0, with Sacramento State winning the last meeting, 1-0, back on October 2, 2009.
The Golden Bears have outscored the opposition, 7-3, led by three goals from sophomore striker Abi Kim and a pair of tallies from junior forward Miranda Nild. Defensively, Cal has held its opponents scoreless in the last two games and is tied for fifth in the conference with a 0.60 goals against average.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
A live stream and live stats will be available for Friday's match, along with updates on the Bears' Twitter (@CalWSoc) and Instagram (@CalWSoc) accounts.
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears kept their perfect home record in tact on Sunday afternoon, beating Long Beach State, 1-0, behind a strike from Nild in the 74th minute. The junior from Castro Valley, California scored her second goal in as many games off an assist from Mia Corbin as Cal won its 13th consecutive home game against a non-conference foe.
Nild, who made 19 starts for the Golden Bears last season, has already set a new single-season best with five points coming on two goals and an assist, and has scored in back-to-back games for the first time in her collegiate career.
Cal's defense once again proved up to the task, blanking the 49ers for its second consecutive clean sheet. Goalkeeper Emily Boyd and the Bears defense have now held their opponents scoreless for a season-best 184:01 and are limiting opponents to an average of 6.8 shots per game.
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
No stranger to competitive matches, Sacramento State is 3-2-0 to start the season, with all five matches being decided by one goal. In their most recent outing, the Hornets found themselves on the wrong side of the score line, dropping a 1-0 decision to Texas on Sunday. Sacramento State outshot the Longhorns 7-4 in the second half, but was unable to overcome a goal by the visitors in the 13th minute, suffering its first home defeat of the year.
Head coach Randy Dedini is in his 11th year as head coach of the Hornets, having claimed Big Sky Coach of the Year honors on three occasions. Sacramento State finished second in the Big Sky last season, but graduated 11 seniors from the 2016 squad, including seven starters. Freshman Kylee Kim-Bustillos leads the Hornets in scoring with three goals this season, followed by two goals from junior Caitlin Prothe. Sacramento State has used three different goalkeepers this season, with rookie Aaliyah Fesili seeing the majority of minutes in net and recording a shutout against UNLV.
NEXT UP
Cal returns to Berkeley next weekend to close out the non-conference campaign, hosting Oklahoma on September 15 at 1:30 p.m. and No. 18 Oklahoma State at 11 a.m. on Sunday. This will be the first time the Golden Bears square off against the Sooners – who reached the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament in 2016 – and the Cowgirls – who are unbeaten on the season at 5-0-1.
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).
