No. 22 Bears Seek Success in SoCal at USC, No. 1 UCLA

BERKELEY, Calif. -- With a rough weekend now behind them, the No. 22 California women’s soccer squad heads to Southern California seeking success against a high-scoring USC team and top-ranked Bruins. The action gets underway early this weekend with a matchup at USC Friday at noon. The Golden Bears meet the No. 1 Bruins Monday at 7 p.m. Both matches will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks, with updates on the @CalWomensSoccer twitter.

LAST TIME OUT
For the first time this season, No. 12 Cal dropped back-to-back games in a 1-0 loss to unbeaten Washington State on Friday followed by a 2-1 loss to Washington on Sunday.

The Cougars slipped past the Bears during a flurry in the box in which the ball bounced off the post before Chelsea Harkins volleyed it in near the 81st minute.

Washington scored on Cal in the first half before the Bears found the equalizer 72 minutes in. Cal was awarded a penalty kick, which Comeau took and successfully converted. She is now 3-3 in penalty kicks this season. Unfortunately for the Bears, the Huskies used some late-match heroics in the 88th minute to net the gamewinner via Jaclyn Softli.

RANKINGS ROUNDUP
In this week’s polls, the Bears appear on: Soccer America (21), NSCAA (22), BennettRank (20) and TopDrawerSoccer (23). In the NCAA RPI, Cal checks in at No. 33.

MORE BEAR BITES:

• Cal ranks third in the Pac-12 conference for assists, points and scoring offense.

• Taylor Comeau ranks in the Top 50 nationally for points per game (48, 1.58).
• Cal has outscored opponents 28-9 (opponent goals include own goal vs. Cal Poly).

• Cal’s 28 goals have come from 12 different players. In 2013, just nine players recorded a goal for the season.

• The Bears have garnered six penalty kicks this season, successfully converting all but one (5-6). In 2013, Cal accrued just three penalty kicks throughout 21 games.

• Every healthy member of the Golden Bear roster has appeared in a game this season.

SCOUTING USC

USC welcomes the Golden Bears after splitting last weekend with a loss to Colorado before recovering with a 2-0 victory over Utah. The Trojans own an 8-2-2 overall record and are 2-1-0 in Pac-12 play. This year, the squad welcomed new head coach Keidane McAlpine, who spent the last two years at Washington State. USC, who was tabbed fourth in the conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll, is led by senior midfielder Alex Quincey who has registered 18 points (nine goals). The Women of Troy will host Cal before facing off against Stanford on Sunday. The Golden Bears own a three-game unbeaten streak against USC that dates back to 2011.

SCOUTING UCLA

Top-ranked UCLA is unbeaten so far this year and owns a 2-0-1 conference record. The squad’s lone draw came against Arizona State in the Bruins’ conference opener, before taking consecutive wins against Utah and Colorado. Reigning Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week Katelyn Rowland improved her career shutout total to 45 last weekend, which is tied for third-most in NCAA history. Offensively, the team is led by senior Sam Mewis who has logged 20 points through 12 games this year (nine goals, two assists). UCLA ranks among the top 10 in the country in multiple categories, including save percentage, shutout percentage  and W-L-T percentage. The team will face off against Stanford  Thursday before taking on the Golden Bears on Monday.