PULLMAN, Washington – A pair of second-half goals sunk the Golden Bears on Thursday night, as Washington State pulled away for a 4-2 victory over Cal at the Lower Soccer Field in Pullman.
Paige Metayer and
Abi Kim both scored in the first half for the Bears (5-10-2, 1-7-1 Pac-12), but the Cougars (11-5-0, 4-5-0 Pac-12) responded with two unanswered goals in the second half to hand Cal its third loss in a row.
With the victory, Washington State improves to 8-1-0 at home this season while Cal falls to 2-4-1 away from home.
Both teams entered Thursday's match looking to get back in the win column, and it was the visiting Bears who struck first. Metayer, a freshman from Irvine, California, gave the Bears the lead in the 13
th minute, scoring her second goal of the season and her first in Pac-12 play. The rookie midfielder picked up the ball centrally outside the box and cut her defender before finishing to the far post with her left foot.
Cal's lead would be short-lived however, as the Cougars leveled the score less than two minutes later. Cougars' striker Morgan Weaver ripped a shot that rattled off the crossbar and back into play. Maddy Haro, the Pac-12's assist leader, was there to corral the rebound and finished past Bears' goalkeeper
Amanda Zodikoff for her third goal of the season.
Washington State doubled its lead in the 37
th minute as the Cougars capitalized on a turnover by the Bears backline. Hanna Goff picked off the errant pass and played the ball to Weaver, who took a touch and beat Zodikoff to the near-post with the finish.
The Bears were able to level the score heading into halftime as Kim scored in the 43
rd minute to knot the match at 2-2. Junior
Maggie Bell served the ball into the area from the left wing and Kim timed her run perfectly, beating both her defender and the on-rushing goalkeeper with deft touch. The assist was Bell's first of the season while Kim tallied her sixth goal of the 2018 campaign, one shy of scoring total last year. Kim has now scored in back-to-back games for the Bears and has three goals in her last four outings.
However, Washington State quickly regained control of the match, scoring what would prove to be the game-winning goal less than a minute into the second half. The Cougars earned a free kick just inside the midfield line in the opening seconds of the half, and Haro's service ricocheted around in the box before it was settled by Goff. Goff laid the ball off for Pulver, who finished from close range to reclaim the lead for the hosts.
Kim nearly tied the match just moments later when she got in on goal, but her shot went just wide of the post. Metayer also continued to create for the Bears in the attack and the led the team with three shots on the evening, two of which were on target.
Washington State sealed the victory in the 82
nd minute as Weaver lined a ball into the area that found Brianna Alger waiting on the six-yard box. Alger was able to turn and finish for Washington State's second unanswered goal of the half.
Zodikoff finished the game with three saves while Rachel Thompson was credited with one save for the Cougars in the win.
Cal will play its final road game of the season on Sunday, taking on Washington (7-9-1, 2-7-0 Pac-12) at 1 p.m. PT at Husky Soccer Stadium in Seattle.
For more updates and information on the team throughout the year, follow the Bears on Twitter (
@CalWSoc), Instagram (
@CalWSoc), and Facebook (
Facebook.com/CalWSoc).