Weekend Sweep - California Golden Bears Athletics

Sunday, November 3

Berkeley, CA

12:00 PM

California

13-3-3, 5-2-3

Arizona State

6-10-3, 0-8-2

Team	1	2	Final F
Arizona St.	1	0	1
California	1	1	2

Photo by: Rob Edwards/klcfotos

11/3/2019 4:56 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Cal Top Arizona State, 2-1, To Close Out Final Homestand Of Regular Season

By: Cal Athletics

BERKELEY - The Cal women's soccer team continued its strong run of form on Sunday, beating Arizona State, 2-1, to extend its unbeaten streak to seven in a row. The Golden Bears (13-3-3, 5-2-3 Pac-12) picked up their 13^th win of the season with an impressive comeback effort against the Sun Devils (6-10-3, 0-8-2 Pac-12), erasing an early deficit. Emma Westin tallied her team-leading 11^th goal of the season, moving her into a tie for third on the conference scoring charts, while senior captain Mia Corbin converted a penalty kick in the 76^th minute for the game winner.

Prior to Sunday's match, the Bears recognized the eight members of their 2019 graduating class: Maggie Bell, Mia Corbin, Daisy Cleverley, Jordyn Elliott, Kayla Fong, Abi Kim, Avery Lakeman, and Olivia Sekany. With Sunday's victory, the group has now amassed 44 wins over the last four seasons, and looks primed to make its third trip in four years to the NCAA Tournament.

"I'm excited for the win today," said Cal head coach Neil McGuire, who picked up the 199^th win of his Division I coaching career with Sunday's victory. "On any Senior Day, there's a lot of emotion. When we went down early, I did worry that it wouldn't end the way that we hoped, but I thought the team rallied really well. We played a lot of different players to try solve the issues in front in of us. The team did really well with the challenge and sent the seniors off deservingly."

In search of their first conference win of the year, the visiting Sun Devils got off to a bright start, scoring off a set piece less than a minute into the match. Arizona State was awarded a free kick in the early seconds of the match in Cal's defensive end, and Olive Jones played a dangerous ball into the edge of the six-yard box. Sun Devil senior defender Christina Edwards elevated above her defender and beat on-rushing Cal goalkeeper Angelina Anderson with a well-time header to the near post.

Despite the early deficit, Cal clawed back and found the equalizer before halftime. Junior centerback Emily Smith played a pinpoint pass over the shoulder of Westin, leading her to goal. The Swedish youth international won the footrace against the Sun Devil defense, and slipped her shot past Arizona State goalkeeper Giulia Cascapera to level the match at 1-1. It was the third assist of the season for Smith, who has also collected Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honors three times this season. Westin continues her stellar junior campaign with her 11^th goal of the season, moving back into a tie for third on the conference scoring charts. The only Cal player over the last seven years to score goals in a single season was Arielle Ship, who tallied 14 goals in 2015 during her Pac-12 Player of the Year campaign.

Level at the break, Cal dictated tempo for much of the second half, outshooting the Sun Devils, 9-0, over the second stanza. The Bears also had a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks in the second half, and 8-4 overall for the game.

The Bears nearly doubled their lead in the 54^th minute, as Westin picked the ball off a Sun Devil defender at the top of the box, but her strike was saved. Cal had another promising chance in the 71^st minute when Kim played a dangerous ball through the area that found freshman Natalie Hueston at the back post. Hueston got off a shot that was saved by Cascapera and her follow-up attempt was blocked out by the defense for a corner.

However, the Bears' perseverance paid off in the 76^th minute when sophomore outside back Abena Aidoo was brought down on her run through the box. Corbin, a senior captain from Maple Valley, Washington, stepped up to the spot and buried her penalty for her second goal of the season. Corbin, who is tied for the team lead with six assists, scored earlier this season on the road at Oregon.

Cal outshot Arizona State, 15-7, overall on the day. Anderson finished with three saves for the Bears while Cascapera came up with five stops for the Sun Devils.

The Bears' 13 wins this season are tied for their most in a single season since going 14-6-2 in 2014. Cal is currently tied for fourth in the Pac-12 table with 18 points and is guaranteed to finish in the top-half of the conference for the 15^th time in the last 16 seasons.

The Bears will head to the Farm for their final match of the 2019 regular season, taking on rival Stanford at 7 p.m. PT on Friday. The Cardinal (17-1-0, 10-0-0 Pac-12) are ranked No. 2 in the nation and clinched the 2019 Pac-12 title. Stanford is perfect at home this season (7-0-0) while Cal is unbeaten on the road (5-0-3) in 2019. The Cardinal have won the last three head-to-head meetings between the schools while Cal's last result against the Cardinal came in 2015, a 1-1 (20T) draw in Palo Alto.

For more information and updates throughout the year, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWSoc), Instagram (@CalWSoc), and Facebook (Facebook.com/CalWSoc).