Cal Looks To Continue Winning Ways

BERKELEY – After a dominant week that saw the California women's soccer team win twice over California squads, the Bears will play two more against teams from the Golden State this week. Cal travels across the bridge to play USF at 7 p.m. on Thursday followed by a home contest against No. 14 Pepperdine at Edwards Stadium on Sunday at 2 p.m.
 
Last Week, the Bears outshot Saint Mary's, 20-3, and UC San Diego, 15-5, on the way to two wins. Keely Roy scored twice in the win over the Tritons, while Karlie Lema and Alexis Wright each scored their first goal of the season in the win over the Gaels.
 
The Bears defense has been fantastic so far in 2022 as the Bears have only allowed six shots on goal against in their three contests, just 2.0 shots per game. Cal is also outshooting opponents by a 14.0-4.0 margin so far during the 2022 season.
 
Last year, the Bears defeated USF by a 1-0 scoreline in Berkeley. Karlie Lema scored the lone goal of the game. The Bears have won 18 times and drawn twice against the Dons in 24 career meetings. The Bears will be facing off with Pepperdine for the first time since 2016. The teams are tied at 1-1-4 across six meetings.
 
Kailee Gifford played four seasons at Cal, before spending 2021 at Pepperdine and then transferring back to Cal for 2022. The sixth-year defender will matchup with her former team on Sunday afternoon.
 
Both contests this week will be live streamed and available to watch on the internet.
 
STARTING STRONG
Keely Roy has started the season on fire, scoring a brace in Cal's win over UC San Diego. It was the first time in nearly three years that a Bear has had a multi-goal game, with the last one coming on September 6, 2019 when Emma Westin scored twice against USD. Roy also tallied a goal in Cal's exhibition match against the Chinese National Team, which Cal tied 2-2 against the 16th-ranked team in FIFA's rankings.
 
STIFLING DEFENSE
Cal has had one of the best defenses in the country in 2021, allowing only 0.94 goals per game and only 9.67 shots per contest. Cal has controlled possession in the majority of their contests leading to a 13.3-9.7 advantage in shots. The Bears only permitted opponents to register 69 shots on goal in 18 contests, 3.83 on-target attempts per game. They've bettered that mark so far in 2022, allowing six total shots on goal in the first three games, an average of two shots on target per game. 
 
Consequently, the Bears posted seven shutouts in 18 games and only allowed more than one goal in five games last year.
 
A-PLUS ANGIE
Angelina Anderson is now fifth on Cal's all-time saves list with 204 in her career. Anderson also has 21 career shutouts and is in fourth on the school's all-time shutouts list after recording a shutout vs. Saint Mary's earlier this year.
 
Anderson was named National Freshman of the Year in 2019 as well as Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year and Freshman of the Year. She was the first player to win both Freshman of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year in the conference. She earned second-team All-Pac-12 in 2020-21 and third team honors in 2021 as she's proven to be one of the top shot stoppers in the nation.
 
RETURNING PRODUCTION
The Bears bring back the majority of the team that played during the 2021 season. The squad finished the season with a three-win improvement from the previous season.
 
For the 2022 season, 30 players from last year's team return and only five players that saw minutes last year depart. Cal returns 149 starts from last year's team. Cal also brings back 14 of the 15 players that recorded points last year including 17 of the 18 goals and all 17 assists. The Bears return student-athletes who have combined for 352 starts and 626 games played in their Cal careers. 
 
BEARS MAKE BIG ADDITIONS
Cal only adds three players to the roster for the 2022 season, but they're all expected to make big contributions. Cal's lone freshman is goalkeeper Teagan Wy. Wy has been with USYNT at 11 different camps and tournaments and was rated as the 18th-best prospect in the class of 2022. She helped the USA to the 2018 CONCACAF Championship as the starting goalkeeper.
 
The Bears also add a familiar face in Kailee Gifford. Gifford spent four seasons at Cal, playing in 50 games and making 31 starts as a defender. She transferred to Pepperdine last year and started in all 10 games before getting hurt. She returns to Cal to use her final year of eligibility in 2022.
 
The Bears also add Mya Daily to the team in 2022 as a transfer from Long Beach State. Daily started at center back for the Beach, helping them lead the Big-West in goals against average and being named to the All-Big West freshman team.
 
STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal women's soccer, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWSoc), Instagram (@CalWSoc) and Facebook (/CalWSoc/).