Cal Hosts San Diego State in NCAA First Round Saturday at Noon

BERKELEY, Calif. -- For the first time since 2000, California’s road to the College Cup begins in Berkeley as the Golden Bears host the San Diego State Aztecs Saturday in the first round of NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament action. Game time is set for 12 p.m. on Goldman Field at Edwards Stadium.

The match will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks with JB Long and Tammy Blackburn on the call.

Tickets for Saturday’s match are $10 for adults and $5 for seniors, youth (24 months to 12th grade) and students with a valid ID, and can be purchased on CalBears.com through Saturday morning. Tickets can also be purchased with cash at the Edwards Stadium ticketing area on the day of the match. Gates open one hour before kickoff.

GOLDEN BEARS IN THE POSTSEASON
Cal’s 2014 postseason run is its 11th consecutive postseason appearance, with the streak dating back to 2004. Cal has advanced to at least the second round of the tournament in seven of the last 11 seasons, failing to advance in 2013, 2010, 2008 and 2004.

The Bears have not advanced to the third round since 2005. Cal’s highest finish in the tourney came in 1987 and 1988, where the Bears tied for third after losing to North Carolina in the semifinals both years.

This is Cal’s first year hosting the NCAA Tournament in Berkeley since 2000, and seventh time overall. In 2000, the Bears earned a first round bye and then lost to Santa Clara, 2-0, in the second round. Berkeley was also a stop on the road to the College Cup five times before that -- in 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987 and 1988.

PAC MENTALITY
This year, a league-record nine Pac-12 teams earned spots in the NCAA Tournament, the most of any conference in the country. UCLA and Stanford led the way with a pair of No. 1 seeds, and Washington is a No. 4 seed. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, USC and Washington State also earned berths.

FAMILIAR FACES IN THE FIELD
Cal is 3-5-1 against teams in the 2014 tournament field, with wins against USC (2-1), Arizona State (1-0) and Colorado (4-2). Cal’s losses came from No. 1 regional seed UCLA (3-0), Washington State (1-0), No. 3 seed Texas Tech (1-0, 2OT), fourth-seeded Washington (2-1) and No. 1 regional seed Stanford (3-2). Cal tied Arizona 1-1 in Tucson earlier this year.

In Cal’s quadrant, the Bears could potentially meet Texas Tech, Washington or Stanford for a rematch en route to the semifinals.

LAST YEAR IN THE NCAA TOURNEY
The Bears were booted early in the tournament after meeting Santa Clara for the second time in 2013. The Broncos hosted the first round at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, and claimed an early lead at 22 minutes in. Cal’s equalizer came from senior defender Emi Lawson at 47:24, but the Broncos regained their lead with a go-ahead goal from lethal Sofia Huerta in the 69th minute and Cal could not recover. Senior goalkeeper Emily Kruger notched six saves in the loss, becoming the program’s all-time career saves leader with 279. The Bears finished the season 11-5-5.

NEIL'S NEARLY THERE
California head coach Neil McGuire is just three wins shy of 100 wins as the Golden Bears’ head coach. He checks in second all-time for wins as a Cal coach behind Kevin Boyd, who was 124-63-20 during his tenure in Berkeley from 1997-06. McGuire is 141-120-26 (.537) all time, including a 36-40-5 record at Mississippi State from 2000-03 and an 8-29-2 record at Texas Tech from 2005-06.

THREE BEARS NAB ALL-PAC-12 HONORS
Taylor Comeau led the way with an All-Pac-12 Second Team selection as a trio of California women’s soccer players picked up four All-Conference honors for the Golden Bears. Freshman Annia Mejia joined Comeau on the All-Conference team as an honorable mention selection, and was also named to the All-Freshman squad along with teammate Emily Boyd. With Mejia and Boyd’s selection, California matched a program-best two newcomers on the All-Freshman team. Mejia is the first Cal freshman since Ifeoma Onumonu in 2012 to be recognized as an All-Pac-12 selection.

CAL FINISHES FIFTH IN LEAGUE
The Golden Bears finished tied for fifth in the Pac-12 this year with a conference record of 5-4-2. At the start of the season, Pac-12 coaches predicted Cal would finish third in the conference behind 2013 Pac-12 champion UCLA and Stanford. Cal also finished fifth in 2013.

LAST TIME OUT
Cal hosted Bay Area rival Stanford, losing a 3-2 heartbreaker to snap a five-game unbeaten streak. Things looked promising went Celeste Boureille gave the Bears a quick goal in the fourth minute, but the game turned out into an all-out war as the Cardinal equalized less than two minutes later. Stanford added two more after halftime in a two-minute span, first a go-ahead goal in the 59th minute and then on a penalty kick at 60:40. Boureille led the Bears’ attempt at a comeback with her second goal of the game in mintue 88, but Cal could not connect for a third goal to tie it up. Boureille’s two goals were a single-game career-high.

RANKINGS ROUNDUP
In this week’s polls, the Bears appear on: BennettRank (18), TopDrawerSoccer (19), NSCAA (20) and Soccer America (23). In the NCAA RPI, Cal checks in at No. 24.

SCOUTING SAN DIEGO STATE

San Diego State earned its third consecutive NCAA Tournament bid, and sixth appearance overall after capturing the Mountain West tournament crown. The Aztec lineup features a bevy of potent scorers, with Kelsey Booth leading the charge with 21 points on seven goals and seven assists. Katie Perry and Hannah Keane are not far behind with 16 points (6 goals, 4 assists) and 15 points (5 goals, 5 assists) respectively. A total of 13 players in the San Diego State lineup have either scored a goal or recorded an assist this season. Between the frames, Melanie Vaughn is 14-4-2 with 52 saves, allowing opponents 20 goals with a 0.99 goals against average. This season, the Aztecs are 7-1 when playing away from campus, and 6-1 in true road games.

LAST MEETING: Saturday’s game will be the first meeting between the Bears and the Aztecs since the 2012 NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament, when San Diego State ousted Cal in the second round, 2-1, from San Diego. The Bears scored early on a goal from Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick (2010-13) before the Aztecs rallied to score two goals, including a late gamewinner in the 83rd minute. Beyond the 2012 match, the two teams have an all-time series record of 6-4, including a perfect 3-0 record for Cal when playing in Berkeley.