No. 23 Golden Bears Return Home to Host Utes

BERKELEY, Calif. -- For the first time since 1997, No. 23 California will play host to Utah in Berkeley. The Utes come to town for a match on Goldman Field beginning at 2 p.m. Friday in Cal’s only action of the weekend. The match will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks, and scoring updates will be provided on the @CalWomensSoccer Twitter account.

LAST TIME OUT

Then-No. 22 California headed to SoCal to rebound after a tough two-loss weekend in Berkeley, and found slightly better fortunes in Los Angeles.

Against the USC Trojans, the Golden Bears put up a tough fight resulting in a 2-1 come-from-behind win. Down 1-0 after the Trojans scored in the 64th minute, Cal wasted no time in lamenting their opponent’s goal and instead used an equalizer from Grace Leer off of a throw-in from Sandra Ley to tie the game up in the 66th minute. Arielle Ship scored the gamewinner less than 12 minutes later, heading in a ball from Indigo Gibson.

Cal’s toughest test of the season came Monday night against the defending national and Pac-12 champion, the top-ranked UCLA Bruins. Unfortunately, the Bears were unable to get many balls past a veteran UCLA squad, resulting in a 20-4 shot advantage and a 4-0 victory for UCLA.

LEER’S GOLAZO VOTED GOAL OF THE WEEK
Grace Leer’s equalizer goal at USC, which kickstarted Cal’s come-from-behind win, was voted this week’s “Goal of the Week” on TopDrawerSoccer.com. Leer’s goal received 92 percent of the vote -- a total of 466 votes -- to beat out Syracuse men’s soccer’s Jordan Murrell.

RANKINGS ROUNDUP
In this week’s polls, the Bears appear on: BennettRank (17), Soccer America (19), TopDrawerSoccer (20) and NSCAA (23). In the NCAA RPI, Cal checks in at No. 23.

MORE BEAR BITES:

• Taylor Comeau ranks in the Top 50 nationally for game-winning goals (No. 48, 3). She is also third in the conference for game-winning goals and total assists (5).

• Cal has outscored opponents 30-13 (opponent goals include own goal vs. Cal Poly).

• Seven different Cal players have scored in Pac-12 play.

• Cal’s 30 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 UTAH

Utah heads to Berkeley with an 8-3-3 overall record and a 1-3-1 mark in conference play. The Utes earned their first Pac-12 win against Oregon State last Sunday after being shut out in the first three conference games of the season. Goalkeeper Linsday Luke, who has been named Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week twice this season, anchors the squad’s defense and ranks second in the Pac-12 in save percentage and total saves. Katie Taylor leads the team offensively and has recorded 13 points (four goals, five assists) through 14 games this year.

Utah is 10-54-4 all-time against teams ranked in the NSCAA Top 25 and is winless against ranked opponents in its last 13 contests. The Utes, who have never tallied a win against Cal, will face the Bears in Berkeley for the first time since 1997.