BERKELEY – One of the best and oldest rivalries in women's college soccer once again lived up to the billing, as Cal and Santa Clara battled it out on Sunday afternoon at Berkeley's Edwards Stadium. The Golden Bears (7-0-0, 0-0-0 Pac-12) proved victorious in the end, maintaining their perfect start to the season with a 2-1 win over the visiting Broncos (4-4-0, 0-0-0 WCC). Emma Westin led the Bears with a goal and an assist, while freshman Natalie Hueston's first collegiate goal proved to be the game-winner, as she found the back of the net in the 79^th minute.

With the win, the Bears improve to 7-0-0 on the season, their best start to a season since 2000 and just the third time in program history opening the year 7-0-0 or better. Cal is now one of only eight teams in Division I women's soccer that remains perfect on the season.

Sunday's victory kept the Bears' win streak alive, while also proving a valuable test against a talented Santa Clara side that knocked off then-No. 2 UCLA last week.

"We're really proud of the team," said Cal associate head coach Austin Risenhoover following the match. "It's a testament to all the work our girls put in back in the spring and in double days, it's great to see them reap the rewards from that work. This was a big-time win. Santa Clara is a very good team."

The 48^th meeting all-time between the Bay Area schools was a hard-fought affair from the opening whistle, with both teams looking to make their mark on the match early. The Bears nearly got on the board in the fourth minute, when sophomore midfield Paige Metayer won the ball in the midfield and played a brilliant ball into the box. Westin made a crashing run in at the back post, but her header went just wide.

Both teams were able to create dangerous chances throughout the first half, but were unable to find the final ball until the Bears broke through with just seconds left in the first half. Senior forward/midfielder Kayla Fong played a ball down the sideline to an on-rushing Abi Kim, who one-time a cross back into the area. Westin was waiting and rifled her right-footed shot into the bottom corner, beating Santa Clara goalkeeper Courtney Ogren.

Westin's goal was her seventh in seven games this season, as the Swedish international continues her breakout start to the 2019 season. Westin is now tied for second in the conference in scoring and is the first Cal player since 2015 to score seven goals in the first seven games of the season. Arielle Ship was the last Golden Bear to accomplish that feat and was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year at the conclusion of the season.

"She's playing with a ton of confidence right now and you can play her in bunch of different roles," Risenhoover said of Westin after the match. "She doesn't ask a ton of questions, she just goes in and does her job, and puts a shift in on both sides of the ball. She's confident and you just can't teach that. She's probably one of the best players in the country right now."

Kim tallied her third assist of the season, good for second on the team, while Fong, a fellow senior, picked up her first point of 2019.

Looking for the equalizer, Santa Clara starting the second half with high energy, creating several dangerous opportunities in the Bears' defensive third. Cal's backline remained organized and handled the pressure well, also finding opportunities to capitalize on the counter. The Bears nearly added a second goal in the 61^st minute, when Kim broke through the Santa Clara defense and slipped a ball into Westin. The Swedish international got in one-on-one with Ogren and was able to touch it around the keeper, but was unable to get around the corner with her final ball.

Santa Clara tied the game up just minutes later off a corner kick in the 63^rd minute. Kelsey Turnbow served a ball into the area that found Izzy D'Aquila making toward the near-post. The freshman powered her header into the back of the net, ending Bears' shutout streak at 602 minutes. Cal was the last team in Division I soccer to allow a goal this season and record six consecutive shutouts to start the season, tied for the second-longest shutout streak in program history.

Despite allowing a goal for the first time this season, Cal remained composed and kept pushing into the attack. The Bears persistence paid off in the 79^th minute, when Westin made a great run into the box and got off a right-footed that rattled off that post and across the area. Cal freshman Natalie Hueston was waiting and pounced on the rebound, taking a deft touch with the outside of her right foot before firing the loose ball into the back of the net. It was the first collegiate goal for Hueston, a rookie out of Newport Beach, and she became the sixth different player to score for the Bears this season. Westin was credited with an assist on the play, pushing her season point total to 15.

Just moments later, it was another Cal freshman coming up with a critical play as freshman goalkeeper Angelina Anderson made a brilliant diving save to preserve Cal's lead. D'Aquila got off another powerful header that seemed destined to tuck inside the post, but Anderson got a strong hand to it, diving to her left.

"They're a really good team and I think we did a really good job all week preparing and that preparation really set us ahead today," said Anderson. "We went out, we fought, and we did what we had to do. Every play, I thought we were there and our minds were right. Even after we gave up the goal, we came together as a team and we were really positive. I think that togetherness is what gave us the win."

Cal now looks to keep its winning streak alive, continuing its homestand at Edwards Stadium for its final two matches of non-conference play. The Bears host UC Riverside on Friday at 2 p.m. PT before taking on the Portland Pilots at 12 p.m. PT on September 22 in Cal's final match before Pac-12 play.
For more information and updates on the team throughout the season, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWSoc), Instagram (@CalWSoc), and Facebook (Facebook.com/CalWSoc).