Cal Drops Match Against Cougars
PULLMAN, WASHINGTON - California women's soccer lost a Pac-12 Conference game against Washington State by a 2-0 scoreline on Sunday afternoon at Lower Soccer Field.
The Cougars opened the scoring from the penalty spot as Sydney Pulver converted the spot kick to Angelina Anderson's left. Alyssa Gray dribbled into the box and forced the defense to commit the foul, earning the spot kick in the 35th minute for Washington State.
WSU added a second goal in the 54th minute as Elyse Bennett dribbled down the right flank and was able to get past the Cal defense and fire a shot in at the near post.
Cal responded almost immediately to going down 2-0, as Kaylee Nguyen received a ball on the left side of the box after a nicely worked passing exchange at the top of the box, but her shot to the near post was saved.
The early parts of the game saw both teams exchange possession without either team generating a great chance. The first opportunity appeared to fall to WSU, but Emily Smith had a goal-saving tackle for the Bears in the 13th minute, as she was able to knock the ball away from the WSU's Bennett, who was in on goal.
Cal's best opportunity of the first half came off a free kick in the offensive third. The designed play had Rohde take the free kick to Manrique who played a quick ball to the third runner, Paige Metayer, who was in on goal. However, Metayer dragged the shot wide of the near post.
The Bears almost scored as the first half expired, as a long throw-in came into the box. The Bears pounced on the ball with Ayo Oke and Ari Manrique trying to play a quick one-two pass, but Manrique was flagged for offside with two seconds left on the clock.
Angelina Anderson kept the Bears in the game as she made herself large and was able to stonewall a Washington State breakaway. Anderson was one-on-one with Margie Detrizio in the 59th minute, but she was able to stop the Cougar attacker and keep the score at 2-0.
Cal (5-4-3, 1-3-1) almost had a goal in the 76th minute as Sydney Collins got down the right flank and then slipped a ball to Karlie Lema. Lema's shot was blocked, but her and Manrique each tried to knock it home as there was a mad scramble in the box, but the Cougars were able to clear the ball.
The Bears and Cougars (10-2-1, 4-1-0) played a pretty even match, with both teams forcing the opposition into three saves. Both squads took four corners and each committed 13 fouls in a tightly contested match.
The Bears will be back in action on Friday as the Bears head to Salt Lake City. Cal will conclude its three game-road trip with a matchup against Utah. The game will kick off at 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.