On The Road Again

Thursday, October 24

Salt Lake City, UT

6:00 PM

California

Utah

10/22/2019 7:08 PM | Women's Soccer

Live Stream (Utah)Live Stats (Utah)Live Stream (Colorado)Live Stats (Colorado)Game Notes (PDF)

Cal Looks To Continue Winning Ways In Matchups At Utah, Colorado

By: Cal Athletics

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - With another Top-10 win on its resumes, the Cal women's soccer team heads to the Rockies this weekend for another pivotal Pac-12 road trip. The Golden Bears (10-3-2, 2-2-2 Pac-12) open play on Thursday night in Salt Lake City, taking on Utah (6-5-4, 1-2-3 Pac-12) at 6 p.m. PT at Ute Field. The road trip wraps up with a Sunday afternoon clash against Colorado (10-4-1, 2-3-1 Pac-12). Sunday's game against the Buffaloes is slated for a 12 p.m. PT kickoff at Boulder's Prentup Field.

The Golden Bears are no strangers to success on the road and are unbeaten in all six games away from Berkeley this season. Cal is on a three-match unbeaten streak overall, punctuated by a 3-0 win over then No. 4 USC last Friday in Berkeley. The Bears jumped out to 1-0 lead after a goal by Luca Deza in the 27th minute, as the junior finished a cross from senior speedster Abi Kim. Cal added to its advantage in the second half with goals from Paige Metayer and Emma Westin, helping the Bears snap USC's four-match winning streak. With a goal and an assist in Friday's win, Deza has voted the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week. The junior midfielder leads Cal in conference play with two goals and five points, and ranks second on the team in both categories for the overall season. Westin, a junior from Stockholm, Sweden, tallied her team-leading eighth goal of the win, moving her back into the top five in the conference scoring charts.

Equally impressive to the offensive output, was Cal's defensive performance against the Trojans. Cal became the first team to hold USC scoreless this season, shutting down the Trojans' high-octane offense. Freshman Angelina Anderson record six saves in the shutout victory, her eighth solo shutout of the season and Cal's ninth clean sheet of the year. A mainstay on the U.S. Youth National Teams, Anderson was named the TopDrawerSoccer National Player of the Week and also collected Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week honors for the third time this season.

Cal's defense has been its calling card all season, leading the Pac-12 and ranking 10th in the nation with a .453 goals against average. The Bears' nine clean sheets this season also lead the conference while Cal's .857 save percentage ranks in the Top-20 nation.

Thursday's game against the Utes will pit the Bears against another one of the top defenses in the conference. Utah is coming off a shutout vs Arizona and ranks fourth in the Pac-12 with a 0.92 goals against average on the year. On Sunday, the Bears' will look to slow down Buffs striker Taylor Kornieck, who ranks third in the conference in scoring with nine goals on the year.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Thursday's game against the Utes will be streamed live, with live stats also available. Sunday's match against Colorado will also be streamed, with live stats available here. Additional in-game updates will be available on the Bears' Twitter (@CalWSoc) and Instagram (@CalWSoc) accounts.

SCOUTING THE UTES
Utah enters the weekend looking to snap a three-game winless streak, most recently playing Arizona to a 0-0 double-overtime draw. The Utes held a 9-5 advantage in shots on goal and a 7-6 lead in corners, but neither team was able to find the back of the net through 110 minutes.

The Utes went unbeaten through their first three matches of conference play, picking up draws against Arizona State and Oregon State, before beating Oregon, 2-0, on October 6. However, Utah's point streak came to an end in a 2-1 overtime defeat to USC, and the Utes dropped a 2-0 decision to UCLA later that weekend.

The Utes have utilized a well-balanced attack, with four players scoring multiple goals so far this season and a total of nine different goal scorers. Holly Daugirda leads Utah with three goals on the season, also adding two assists. Senior goalkeeper Carly Nelson leads the conference in saves (76) and is tied with Anderson for the Pac-12 lead with eight shutouts on the season.

While Cal is unbeaten on the road this season, the Utes have yet to lose on home turf in 2019, boasting a 4-0-3 record at newly opened Ute Field.

Head coach Rich Manning is in his 18^th season in Salt Lake City and returns nine starters and 17 letterwinners from his 2018 squad.

Thursday's game will be the 11^th meeting all-time between Cal and Utah, with the Golden Bears leading the overall series, 7-1-3. The Utes picked up their first victory in the series last season, topping the Bears, 2-1, in Berkeley. Kim opened the scoring for the Bears in the 17^th minute, but a pair of second-half goals by the Utes would prove to be the difference. However, the most recent meeting between the teams in Salt Lake City came in 2017 and saw the Golden Bears come away with the 2-0 win, thanks to goals by Kim and Deza.

SCOUTING THE BUFFS
Colorado comes into the weekend on the heels of a 2-1 win over Arizona State. The Buffs got off to a bright start, after a goal by Gabbi Chapa in the second minute. Tessa Barton added a tally in the 49^th minute for Colorado, who withstood a 78^th-minute score by the Sun Devils. The win over Arizona State snapped a three-game losing streak for the Buffs, who found themselves on the wrong side of the scoresheet against Oregon State, UCLA, and USC. Colorado began conference play with a 2-1, double-overtime win at Arizona, followed by a 2-2 draw against Oregon.

Colorado ranks fourth in the conference in both goals per game (1.80) and shots per game (15.4) this season, with an offense paced by senior standout Kornieck. The Buffs all-time career points leader, Kornieck leads Colorado with nine goals this season – good for third in the conference – and has 23 total points on the year, having also tallied five assists. Freshman Tessa Barton is second on the team in scoring with five goals this season, and has found the back of the net in conference play against Oregon State and Arizona State.

Senior Jalen Tompkins has played every minute in goal this season, posting a 10-4-1 record with six shutouts and a .778 save percentage.

Head coach Danny Sanchez is in his 8^th season as head coach at Colorado, and 24^th season overall.

Sunday's game will be the 11^th meeting all-time between Cal and Colorado. The Golden Bears hold a slight 5-4-1 lead in the overall series, though the Buffs won last season's meeting in Berkeley, 3-0. Cal won the most recent matchup between the schools in Boulder, a 1-0 win for the visiting Golden Bears in 2017 behind a first-half goal from Kailee Gifford.

Prior to Sunday's game against the Bears, the Buffs will host No. 2 Stanford at 2 p.m. PT on Thursday afternoon.

NEXT UP
The Bears will return to Berkeley next weekend for their final two home games of the 2019 regular season. Cal kicks off the homestand on Halloween, hosting Arizona at 1 p.m. PT on October 31. The Bears will then take on Arizona State at 12 p.m. PT on November 3 to close out the weekend. Prior to the match against the Sun Devils, Cal will recognize its eight-member graduating class of Maggie Bell, Mia Corbin, Daisy Cleverley, Jordyn Elliott, Kayla Fong, Abi Kim, Avery Lakeman, and Olivia Sekany.

2019 TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Tickets are now on sale for the 2019 Cal women's soccer season. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for seniors, and $5 for youth. Cal students and staff receive free admission with a valid ID and entry is free for ages 13 and below Monday through Thursday. New this season to Edwards Stadium, fans can purchase group tickets ahead of time on CalBears.com which will be available for will call pickup for a $3 charge. For more information, 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).