Cal Opens Pac-12 Championship Against Arizona State
PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP
— Cal is the fifth-seeded team in the 2021 Pac-12 Championship and will open against fourth-seeded Arizona State in a quarterfinal on Wednesday (4 pm PDT) with the winner advancing to play unbeaten and top-seeded host No. 13/15 ranked Stanford in a semifinal on Thursday (4 pm PDT) with the title game set for Saturday at Noon against either second-seeded USC or third-seeded Colorado
— The winner of the 2021 Pac-12 Championship earns one of 16 automatic berths to the 29-team NCAA Tournament that begins May 14 with the bracket to be announced May 9
— Cal is playing in its third Pac-12 Championship after falling 22-9 to Oregon in Boulder its opening quarterfinal game in 2018 that was also the first-ever contest played in the Pac-12 Championship and splitting a pair of games in Eugene in 2019 with a 12-8 victory over Arizona State in the quarterfinals before falling 16-5 in the semifinals to USC
— There was no Pac-12 Championship in 2020 due to COVID-19
— Eight of Cal's current players (Ella Annest, LizaBanks Campagna, Sophia Cerino, Marisa Kuberra, Catherine Roxas, Marina Smith, Ashley Ward, Nikki Zaccaro) and current assistant coach Caroline Corzel participated in the Golden Bears' 2019 Pac-12 Championship quarterfinal win against Arizona State
CAL-ARIZONA STATE HISTORY
— Cal and Arizona State have split their all-time series, 4-4
— Arizona State has won the last three meetings including both games in 2021 by scores of 21-11 in Berkeley (Mar. 14) and 11-7 in Tempe (Apr. 18), as well as 17-15 in their only meeting last season in Tempe (Mar. 6), and 12-11 in overtime in the first-ever meeting between the teams (Mar. 25, 2018)
— Cal won four in a row from Apr. 1, 2018 - Apr. 25, 2019 with the final victory in the stretch the 12-8 win that was Cal's first-ever victory at the Pac-12 Championship (Apr. 25, 2019), a 17-8 win in Berkeley (Mar. 31, 2019) and the first two games of the series played in Tempe by scores of 17-13 (Apr. 1, 2018) and 12-11 in overtime (Mar. 25, 2019)
NINE SENIORS
— Cal has nine seniors on its 2021 roster in Ella Annest, LizaBanks Campagna, Sophia Cerino, Marisa Kuberra, Kamryn Lanier, Joanna Levin, Marina Smith, Ashley Ward and Nikki Zaccaro) on its 2021 roster
SAME SIX SENIOR STARTERS
— Cal has six seniors that have started all 17 contests in 2021 in LizaBanks Campagna, Marisa Kuberra, Kamryn Lanier, Marina Smith, Ashley Ward and Nikki Zaccaro
ANNEST ALL-TIME GAMES PLAYED LEADER, CAMPAGNA EQUALS TWO DRAW CONTROL MARKS
— Ella Annest played in the 74th game of her Cal career in her most recent outing against Stanford in the April 24 regular-season finale to establish a new career school record for games played
— LizaBanks Campagna equaled Cal's all-time and single-season draw control records in the same contest against the Cardinal and with current totals of 174 for her career and 76 in 2021 is tied with Megan Tackas (174, 2010-13) and Elizabeth Koehler (76, 2018) for Cal's career and single-season records
WINNING THE DRAW CONTROL GAME
— Cal has a 206-201 advantage in draw controls in 2021 and has won the draw control battle in nine of its first 17 games while tying in another
CAMPAGNA RANKED AMONG PAC-12 LEADERS
— LizaBanks Campagna leads the Pac-12 in caused turnovers (30) and ground balls (43) while she is fourth in draw controls (76)
2021 REGULAR-SEASON REVIEW
— Cal's lone two victories came via a two-game home-and-home sweep of Fresno State but the Bears lost seven games by two goals or less including six of their final eight
— Cal's defense was significantly better the second time around the Pac-12 with 53 goals allowed over its final five games against league competition compared to 89 in its first five
— Cal is the only Pac-12 team not to miss a scheduled game in 2021 due to COVID-19 protocols