WSOC11/11/2024 5:07 PM | By: Cal Athletics
Cal Selected To 28th NCAA Championship
Bears Draw 7th Seed Pepperdine In First Round
BERKELEY – For the 28th time in program history, the California women's soccer team is headed to the NCAA Championship. The Golden Bears will head to Malibu for a first-round matchup with 7th-seeded and 22nd-ranked Pepperdine this Saturday at noon on ESPN+.
Tickets are available now on PepperdineWaves.com and are limited. Bleacher seating is limited and available on a first-come-first-serve basis, so fans are encouraged to bring their own chairs.
This will be the 14th NCAA Championship appearance for the Bears under head coach Neil McGuire, and the second in the last three seasons.
"We are thrilled to be back in the NCAAs," McGuire said. "The team has shown tremendous dedication this season and our inclusion was earned and is richly deserved. We look forward to playing a great Pepperdine team."
Cal (12-5-2) will be searching for its first first-round win since 2014 when the team defeated San Diego State at home 3-2 in double overtime. The last time the Bears won a first-round match on the road was in 2012 at the very stadium they will be heading to this week, Tari Frahm Rokus Field, where they defeated the Waves 1-0. The most recent postseason clash between these two programs was in 2016 when host Pepperdine won a first-round battle in penalty kicks 3-2.
This year the Waves (12-3-5) earned a share of the WCC title with Santa Clara but the Broncos earned the conference's automatic bid based on goal differential in conference matches. This is Pepperdine's first NCAA Championship berth since 2021 and its 14th all time.
Saturday's winner will go on to face the winner of the first-round match between second-seeded Arkansas and Oklahoma State. First round matches will be played Nov. 15-17, while the second and third rounds will take place Nov. 22 and 24, respectively, and the quarterfinals on Nov. 29 or 30. The NCAA College Cup will be played Dec. 6 & 9 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.
