WSOC10/29/2024 1:49 PM | By: Cal Athletics
Cal Closes Regular Season At No. 14 Stanford
Bears Face Cardinal In First ACC Matchup
The California women's soccer team (11-5-2, 4-4-1) hits the road this Thursday for a regular-season finale with No. 14 Stanford.
Match Information
No. 14 Stanford (13-3-1, 5-3-1)
· Date and Time: Thursday, Oct. 31, 7 p.m. PT
· Location: Stanford, CA - Cagan Stadium
· Live Stream:
ACCNX
· Live Stats:
Statbroadcast
Last Week
The Bears ended a four-match skid last Sunday with a 3-2 win over SMU. It was a back-and-forth affair as the visiting Mustangs netted two second-half equalizers and never let the Bears lead exceed one goal. All five goals were scored in a 23-minute stretch. Freshman
Kenley Whittaker scored her first collegiate goal on a header from a beautiful cross by junior
Alex Klos in the 43rd minute. Klos ended the day with two assists and seniors
Velize King and
Karlie Lema scored the final two goals in what could be their final match at Edwards Stadium. Lema's score in the 65th minute went down as the game winner, the 11th in her career.
Postseason Picture
With No. 13 Notre Dame sitting in sixth place with 16 points and holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over Cal, the Bears have been eliminated from ACC Championship contention. The NCAA Championship selection show is set for Nov. 11.
The Lema Legend
Senior forward
Karlie Lema ranks third in the country with 16 goals and second with 38 points. She also ranks third in the nation in points per game (2.11) and goals per game (0.89). All those marks are good for first in the ACC. This season Lema has a hat trick, four braces, three equalizers and four game-winners. On Sept. 8 she broke into the program's top-10 scoring list and now sits tied for sixth place with 31 career goals. It took her all of six matches to tie her season-high goal total of six set during her freshman season, and two matches later she had nearly doubled that total.
Lema's 16 goals are good for the fourth most in a single season in Cal history and are the most scored by a Bear since 2000. She passed Alex Morgan for fifth on the single-season points list Sunday with her 38th point.
Give It A Chance
Cal has one of the top offenses in the country, ranking 18th with 40 total goals, a mark that is also good for fourth in the ACC. Much of this offensive success can be attributed to the fact that the Bears put over half of their attempts on frame, ranking second in the conference with a .502 shot on goal percentage. On the individual side, Lema ranks third in the conference in that category, giving .592 of her shots a scoring chance, and ranks sixth in the nation with 2.50 SOG per game. The Bears, who have only been shut out once this season, have 11 multi-goal performances and boast a 9-1-1 record in those matches.
Second-Half Surge
This season Cal has done the bulk of its scoring in the second half with 29 of its 40 goals coming in the final 45 minutes. The Bears currently hold a 29-15 second-half goal differential and have only been shut out three times in the period. Twelve goals have been scored in the 75th minute or later and on four occasions the Bears have come back from a goal or two down to earn a result.
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