The California women's soccer team (3-1-4) is set for its second ACC campaign opening its conference schedule on the road this week in two stadiums it has never visited. The Golden Bears will test their four-match unbeaten streak against Pitt on Thursday on ACCNX before taking on Clemson on Sunday on ACC Network.
 
The Panthers (4-2-2) opened the season with four straight wins but have gone 0-2-2 since. The Bears won the inaugural meeting between the two programs last year in Berkeley 1-0. The Tigers (3-1-3), who the Bears have never played, ride a four-match unbeaten streak of their own but will face No. 1 Stanford to start the week.
 
Match Information                                                                                                                                          
 
Pitt (4-2-2, 0-0-0 ACC)
·       Date and Time: Thursday, Sept. 11 at 4 p.m. PT
·       Location: Pittsburgh, PA – Ambrose Urbanic Field
·       Live Stream: ACCNX/ESPN+ (PXP: Zack Gibney, Analyst: Rachael Palmer)
·       Live Stats: Statbroadcast
 
Clemson (3-1-3, 0-0-0 ACC)
·       Date and Time: Sunday, Sept. 14 at 10 a.m. PT
·       Location: Clemson, SC – Riggs Field
·       Live Stream: ACC Network
·       Live Stats: Statbroadcast
 
 
Wy Named ACC Defensive Player of the Week
Senior goalkeeper Teagan Wy team was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week Tuesday morning
 
Wy earned back-to-back shutouts this week for the third time in her career. 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 35 total saves and a 4.38 saves per match average. Wy's 0.88 goals-against average and .833 save percentage this season are the top marks of her career, and she has tallied four or more saves in five straight matches.
 
Spreading The Love
Cal's nine goals this year have come off six different boots with senior Coco Thistle leading the way with three. Ten total Bears have accounted for the team's 26 points with all but two goals being assisted on so far. Seven of the nine 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 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 201-118-58 and he has 245 wins in his career.
 
Warm Welcome
Two new forwards helped lead Cal to its 3-2 win over UCSD in the season opener. It took 5 minutes and 56 seconds for freshman Elhom Khursand to earn her first collegiate assist, playing a ball into Coco Thistle who scored to tie the match at 1-1. Senior transfer Lumi Kostmayer scored the go-ahead goal in spectacular fashion, chipping the Triton goalkeeper from outside the 18-yard box in the 25th minute. Kostmayer currently ranks first on the team with two goals, 17 shots, and 289 minutes played at the forward position.
 
Warm Welcome Back
The first match of the season saw the return of two Bears that all missed all of last season with injuries. Senior midfielder Coco Thistle, who missed all of last season with a cancer scare and back issues, played and started in her first match in 665 days and scored an early equalizer in the sixth minute.
 
Seventh-year forward Mia Fontana, who missed all last year with a torn ACL, made her return and tallied 25 minutes in her first match in 660 days. She had a chance at a goal of her own but was taken down in the box by a UCSD defender, leading to a penalty kick. In stepped Soleil Dimry, who missed most of last season with an injury of her own. The junior forward scored what would be the game winner on that PK.
 
Wy Named Preseason All-ACC
For the second straight year, goalkeeper Teagan Wy was named to the Preseason All-ACC team as selected by the conference's head coaches.
 
The 14-player team featured just one keeper spot, giving Wy the nod of being the best at her position heading into the season in what is widely regarded as the top conference in the sport.
 
Despite missing a large portion of last season to lead Team USA to a bronze medal at the 2024 U20 FIFA World Cup, Wy was named Second Team All-ACC. She ranked in the top 10 of the ACC with a .788 save percentage and 1.14 goals-against average for the overall season. In ACC play, she ranked fourth with a .794 save percentage, seventh with 4.50 saves per game, and eighth with 1.246 goals against average. Wy ended the regular season with a 6-3-0 record.
 
Wy continuously showed up big when the lights were brightest, making a career-high nine saves vs. No. 3 North Carolina, including a PK stop with just 11 seconds to go before the Bears ultimately fell to the eventual national champions. Wy picked up her first shutout of the season vs. No. 16 Pitt, making five saves in the win, and added five more saves in 56 scoreless minutes against No. 1 Duke before leaving the match with an injury. Wy capped off the season with another seven saves on the road at No. 4 Arkansas in the second round of the NCAA Championship.
 
Year 2
Cal enters its second year in the ACC, which features many of the top teams in the sport. Nine ACC teams advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship last year. The Bears faced all four teams that made the College Cup during the regular season and posted a 1-2-1 record against them.
 
2024 Recap
The Cal women's soccer team enjoyed a successful inaugural ACC season in 2024, highlighted by its first win in the NCAA Championship in 10 years. The Bears posted a 13-6-2 overall record with a 5-4-1 ACC mark. Both records are the team's most wins and highest win percentages since 2019. 
 
Cal added three ranked wins, two of which came on the road over No. 14 Stanford and No. 22 Pepperdine. The Bears also had their most wins at home in 15 years, going 9-2-1 at Edwards Stadium. Finishing tied for seventh out of 17 teams in the ACC, the Bears narrowly missed the six-team ACC tournament but were selected to their 28th NCAA Championship. Cal went on the road and defeated host Pepperdine in double overtime in the first round, giving the Bears their first NCAA Championship road victory in 12 years. 
 
Perhaps the biggest story of the year was the outstanding season of senior Karlie Lema, who was named ACC Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-ACC. After scoring 15 goals in the first three years of her career, Lema erupted with 16 during her final season, which was the third most in the country and the fourth most in Cal history in a single year. She totaled 38 points, which was tied for the second most in the nation and is fifth in program history.
 
Stay Posted
For more coverage of the Cal women's soccer team, please follow the Bears on X (@CalWSoc), Instagram (@calwsoc), Facebook (/CalWSoc) and TikTok (@calwsoc).