Feb. 26, 2000
STANFORD, Calif. - California dropped a soggy 6-3 decision to Stanford Saturday night in a raining night game at New Maloney Field. Freshman goalkeeper Eden Coelho held the Bears defense together with 16 huge saves in her first serious collegiate test on the field, blocking and deflecting shots in nearly every imaginable manner.
"Scoring three goals isn't enough to win a game in this league," said California head coach Jill Malko. "We've got to score more. I thought we dominated the time of possession in the second half, but they shut down our go-to players, so maybe we need to think about looking somewhere else."
After nearly 10 minutes of scoreless play in the first half, Stanford struck the back of the net first with a goal by Emily Rodriguez. Freshman attacker Britni Must soon after took over, blasting a shot through Rachael Neumann (seven saves) with 17:09 to play in the half to tie the game at 1-1.
Stanford (1-1 overall, 1-1 in the WWLL) managed to knock in another goal moments later, but again the Bears responded. Sophomore attacker Halsey Monger answered the call with a tremendous driving effort with 3:32 left on the clock, following an assist from junior midfielder Joelle LeMoult, to again tie the game, now at 2-2.
A minute later, from out of nowhere, Hedy Born received credit for a garbage goal behind the net to again raise the Cardinal lead, 3-2. But California (1-1 overall, 0-1 in the WWLL) was again quick to return the favor. With just under a minute to play in the half, a streaking sophomore attacker Laura Kado received a pass from freshman midfielder Jessie Liu out on the flank and made a couple of moves to the net worthy of slow-motion video highlights. The result was unquestionable, scoring the goal to tie the game at 3-3 with 0:52 remaining in the first half.
Unfortunately for the Bears, Stanford would find a way to run the field and pick up one more goal before the horn on a shot by Katharine Barnes with 0:11 left on the clock, sending California into halftime down 4-3.
In the second half, the story was all about missed opportunities, as the Bears created numerous scoring looks in front of the Cardinal net, only to be left empty-handed. The half certainly did not go by without a fight, however, as California never once showed signs of letting down or giving up, battling through to the very last second of play. Stanford's Caroline Osterwise picked up two goals in the second stanza, with 12:45 and 11:11 remaining respectively, to set the final score at 6-3.
"I thought we did a good job," said Malko. "Anytime you hold a team like Stanford to six goals, you did a good job. Eden played well beyond her years and really made a difference in this game."
California returns to action Sunday, March 5th, to battle the Aggies at UC Davis. Game time is set for 11:00 a.m.
GOALS: Cal - Must 1, Monger 1, Kado 1, Stanford - Osterwise 2, Rodriguez 1, Britt 1, Born 1, Barnes 1. ASSISTS: Cal - LeMoult 1, Liu 1, Stanford - Lev 1, Born 1. SAVES: Cal - Coelho 16, Stanford - Neumann 7. SHOTS: Cal 14, Stanford 20.
