Oct. 13, 1997
Cal Hosts Chico State, Heads for Stanford
BEARS FACE CHICO ST., STANFORD: The Bears will face Chico State on Wednesday, Oct. 15 on Witter Field at 12 noon. The meeting marks the first time the two teams have met in 14 years. The last time they faced was in 1982 when both teams played to a 2-2 tie. Chico State holds the three-game series lead, 2-0-1, as the Wildcats have never lost to the Bears. Cal will then face No. 6 Stanford at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 19 on New Maloney Field in Stanford. The contest marks the 25th time the pair have met, with Stanford leading the series, 13-7-1. Cal won the last meeting, 2-1, which was held in Berkeley.
WEEK SEVEN HIGHLIGHTS: California went 1-1 last weekend, posting a win at Oregon State, 3-1, before losing to Washington, 4-0. The Bears opened the road trip with superb offensive and defensive play. Junior Matt Newmark netted the opening goal of the game in the second half off a corner kick by sophomore Chris Sawicki to give Cal the 1-0 lead. Two minutes later, freshman Kendall Simmonds scored from close range off assists from Mike Haralambakis and John Macdonald. OSU closed within 2-1, but sophomore Justin Bell gave the Bears the insurance goal with a diving header at the 51-minute mark. Sophomore Derrick Dyslin led a sturdy Cal defense in the victory.
The Bears then headed to No. 8 Washington to take on the Huskies, who were coming off a 1-0 loss to Stanford. The Huskies came out fighting and dominated Cal in a 4-0 defeat. It was the first time the Bears had been shutout this season as Washington controlled the attack, outshooting Cal, 14-9. It was also the first time the Bears had been held to under 10 shots in a game.
SIMMONDS STEPS UP: Freshman Kendall Simmonds has stepped into a leadership role for Cal team this year. A starter in the past three games, Simmonds was previously one of the first men off the bench for head coach Mark Mallon. But since scoring his first collegiate goal against Sacramento State, he has been hot. Currently, he ranks fourth in total points this season with seven (3 goals, 1 assist). All of his points have come the last five games, earning him a starting role in the front line.
CAL LOOKS TO BOOKEND STANFORD: Stanford is riding a 17-game unbeaten streak, six of which came at the end of the 1996 season. The Cardinal's last loss came at the hands of the Bears in last year's conference match-up in Berkeley. The then-No. 2 ranked Cal team defeated Stanford, 2-1. Since Stanford is idle until Sunday's game, Cal will have the chance to end the unbeaten streak.
BEARS IN THE RANKINGS: The Bears opened up the 1997 campaign with a preseason No. 12 ranking by Soccer America. In the Sept. 15 poll, Cal achieved its highest ranking, No. 9, in Soccer America's poll and received its first ranking of the year (No. 14) in the National Soccer Coaches Association poll. The Bears are currently ranked only by Soccer News, where they hold the No. 21 spot.
ABOUT STANFORD: The Cardinal is 10-0-2 overall and 2-0-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and is riding a 17-game unbeaten streak. Most recently, Stanford handed then-No. 8 Washington a loss, 1-0, but tied Oregon State, 0-0. Junior A.J. Sauer is leading the Cardinal leading scorer with six goals. But one of the major keys to Stanford's success is freshman Adam Zapala, who has played every minute in goal for the Cardinal. Zapala is leading the nation in goals against average with 0.16 and has allowed just two goals this season.
THE COACHES: Head coach Mark Mallon is in his fifth season at the helm for the Bears with a school and career record of 38-42-8. Last season, Mallon guided Cal to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1986. He is joined for the third year by assistant coach Lyle Yorks, a former All-American at the University of Virginia and goalkeepers coach Raffi Kardzair, who played at the University of San Francisco.
