After a short break from conference play this past weekend, the California women's soccer team will put its seven-match unbeaten streak to the test this week with a pair of ACC matches at Edwards Stadium. The Golden Bears (5-1-5, 1-0-1 ACC) will host Syracuse in their ACC home opener Thursday before welcoming Boston College for their MS Awareness game Sunday.
 
It will be the first meeting between the Bears and Orange (4-3-4, 0-2-1), who come to town on a bit of a skid having lost tough matchups to No. 1 Virginia and No. 6 Florida State. Syracuse was outscored 7-0 in those two contests. The Eagles (4-2-4, 0-1-1) will be making their inaugural visit to Berkeley to face Cal for the first time since the two teams met in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Championship. That match ended in a tie, but BC advanced to the Sweet 16 on penalty kicks. Boston College opened its conference schedule with a loss to Pitt but bounced back with an impressive draw against No. 16 Wake Forest.
 
 
Match Information                                                                                                                                          
 
Syracuse (4-3-4, 0-2-1 ACC)
·       Date and Time: Thursday, Sept. 25 at 4 p.m. PT
·       Location: Berkeley, CA – Edwards Stadium
·       Live Stream: ACCNX/ESPN+ (PXP: Dr. Ty-Ron Douglas, Analyst: Keely Roy)
·       Live Stats: Statbroadcast
 
Boston College (4-2-4, 0-1-1) | MS Awareness Game
·       Date and Time: Sunday, Sept. 28 at 1 p.m. PT
·       Location: Berkeley, CA – Edwards Stadium
·       Live Stream: ACCNX/ESPN+ (PXP: Greg Wong, Analyst: Keely Roy)
·       Live Stats: Statbroadcast
 
 
Free Admission
All home matches at Edwards Stadium this season are free to the public and do not require tickets.

United Soccer Coaches Poll
Following a big win over Bay Area rival Santa Clara last weekend, Cal is receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll for the first time since the preseason. The poll currently features seven ACC teams including the top three and five of the top 10. Four different ACC teams have held the No. 1 spot this year and an ACC team has held the top spot six out of seven weeks.
 
MS Awareness Game
Sunday marks the team's MS Awareness Game. The Bears have partnered with Mission Stadiums for Multiple Sclerosis (MS4MS) to raise funds and awareness for the disease. The match will feature specialty food items, a post-meet autograph session with the Golden Bears, as well as an online silent auction with autographed professional jerseys and balls from many former Cal players, NWSL players, and the world's all-time international goals leader, Christine Sinclair.
 
MS4MS has started an event page where donations can be made to help the team reach its fundraising goal of $5,000. This partnership was born by Cal associate head coach Cori Callahan, who has a personal relationship with the disease and the foundation. Her father, Al Alexander, has been living with MS for 33 years.
 
Bears Win Battle Of The Bay
The 56^th meeting between San Francisco Bay Area rivals Cal and Santa Clara went the way of the Bears last Saturday by a score of 2-0. It was a gritty, physical match between two teams that have met at least once a year since 2007 and seven times in the NCAA Championship. In all there were 17 fouls committed, and six yellow cards distributed.
 
Freshman Mia Van More provided the first-half game-winner on an unassisted effort in the 38^th minute that was described by ACCNX analyst and Cal alum, Keely Roy, as a "class act finish." Junior center back Malia McMahon came off the bench and scored a header off a corner kick in the 69th minute to seal the win for the Bears who now lead the all-time series over the Broncos 25-22-9. Cal did not allow a single shot on goal, which has only happened to SCU twice in 15+ years.
 
Brace Yourself
Senior transfer Lumi Kostmayer doubled her season goals total earning a brace on the road at Clemson. She scored in the 52nd minute on an assist from junior Miriam Hils and found the net again unassisted in the 60th to become the first Bear this year with a multigoal match. Kostmayer now leads the team with four goals and 10 points.
 
Wy Named ACC Defensive Player of the Week
Senior goalkeeper Teagan Wy was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 9.
 
Wy earned back-to-back shutouts for the third time in her career as she and the Golden Bears battled to scoreless draws against Washington State and Cal Poly. Wy posted a season-high seven saves in both matches while also making a handful of other key plays and breakups that helped preserve the two clean sheets.
 
The senior now leads the ACC with 43 total saves and a 4.30 saves per match average. Wy's 1.00 goals-against average and .811 save percentage this season are the top marks of her career, and she has tallied four or more saves in six of her last seven matches.
 
Spreading The Love
Cal's 15 goals this year have come off eight different boots with Lumi Kostmayer leading the way with four. Thirteen total Bears have accounted for the team's 43 points with all but four goals being assisted on so far. Twelve of the 15 goals have been scored by newcomers and Bears that missed all or most of last season with injuries.
 
200 Club
On Aug. 21 Cal head coach Neil McGuire achieved his 200th victory as the leader of the Golden Bears. The Bears' 3-2 win over San Francisco sealed the career milestone for McGuire, who is the program's all-time wins leader. His Cal record currently sits at 203-118-58 and he has 247 wins in his career.