Bears Fall To Broncos In Overtime Stunner

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The California women's soccer team dominated possession for most of the afternoon but in the end fell victim to a tap in header by Santa Clara's Izzy D'Aquila with 26 seconds remaining in the second overtime.

Cal (10-5-6) and the Broncos (11-6-3) battled to a scoreless draw through 108 minutes Saturday afternoon at Steven Stadium. In the final 30 seconds, Santa Clara's Keren Goor sent a cross into a crowded box in front of goal. Keeper Angelina Anderson collided with a Cal defender allowing D'Aquila to put enough on the loose ball to knock it in for the game-winner.

The two sides finished the contest even in shot totals at 11 apiece. The Broncos had a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal with all five coming late in the second half and overtime.

The Bears dominated possession in the opening half outshooting the Broncos 6-3, with three of those six attempts on goal.

Cal's top scoring opportunities in the first half came off the foot of Keely Roy and Karlie Lema. Roy took a shot from the top of the box that was saved by Broncos' keeper Marlee Nicolos in the 29th minute. Lema beat the Broncos defense along the left side and blasted a shot from the left side of the box from her right foot that was once again turned away by a diving Nicolos in the 32nd minute.

The two sides went into the intermission knotted up at zero. Out of the break, Cal had a great chance to score in the 50th minute when Mia Fontana corralled a loose ball in front of an open goal in the box, but the Broncos knocked the ball away at the last second for a Golden Bear corner kick.

Roy and Lema combined for 10 shots each with both players tallying two shots on goal. Fontana had the other shot for the Bears.

Cal's defense was brilliant through most of the contest. The Broncos got their first corner kick in the 68th minute which was promptly cleared without much of a threat.

Down the stretch, the Broncos attack took the momentum. However, Anderson and the Golden Bears' defense was up to the task. Anderson picked up four saves late in the contest and turned away several Bronco scoring threats.

Although the postseason run ends in the first round, Cal had a tremendous 2022 campaign. The Golden Bears broke into the top-four in the Pac-12 and placed three on the all-conference second team.

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