April 15, 2000

BERKELEY, Calif. - California roared out of the gate early against visiting UC Davis Saturday afternoon, as the Bears wasted no time demonstrating they were ready to challenge the Western Women's Lacrosse League-leading Aggies right from the start. Four Bears each scored two goals apiece in a total team effort leading to a 10-6 California victory inside Memorial Stadium. The loss was Davis' first of the season.

Sophomore midfielder Laura Kado, returning to action following a minor foot injury, notched the first goal for California (9-5 overall, 3-2 in the WWLL) just 3:39 into the match off an assist from freshman midfielder Jessie Liu. Davis (11-1 overall, 4-1 in the WWLL) responded with two goals by Renee Snyder and Meredith Roberts over the next 10 minutes, but California would find an answer. With 7:32 remaining in the first half, sophomore attacker Halsey Monger did what she does best, setting up goals, first assisting a streaking senior midfielder Kirsten Jensen and 5:30 minutes later connecting with freshman midfielder Leslie Arndt, creating a 3-2 halftime advantage for the Bears.

"They weren't intimidated at all out there," said California head coach Jill Malko of her player's effort. "It was a full team effort. People stepped up who maybe you wouldn't have thought would. The word of the day was consistency. No matter what 12 players were out there, they were playing like a team."

Davis responded just 59 seconds into the second half with a goal by Jenny Shargel to tie the game 3-3, but junior midfielder Joelle LeMoult would have nothing of it, scoring unassisted 1:02 later to recapture the California lead. Just over a minute later, Nalani Ngoon again tied the contest for Davis, but again the Bears had an answer. Just 27 seconds following Ngoon's goal, Monger lit off a rocket into the back of the Aggie cage to put California up 5-4. The Bears would never trail again.

"As difficult and challenging as our trip back east was, it really prepared us for our league games," said Malko. "Those tough losses have exposed us to a whole new level of lacrosse. They've seen as tough as it gets. Our league competition is not going to be like a Cornell or a Virginia Tech."

Monger's goal with 26:25 remaining in the second stanza would set off a six-goal scoring run by the Bears, with goals by Arndt, Jensen, Monger and two by junior midfielder Sarah Wheatley, pushing the California lead out to 10-4 with 15:34 to play in the contest.

"Leslie Arndt had a great game today," said Malko. "You could see it, she had the fire in her. And Kirsten Jensen had two fantastic goals at crucial times that really changed the momentum of the game for us."

With a six goal lead in place, a Golden Bear defense that had already essentially shutdown the Aggies offense buckled down even further, resisting numerous attempts by Davis to work itself back into the game, but the Bears and freshman goalkeeper Eden Coelho would not allow it.

"Eden figured out a combination of their best players' kinds of shots," said California assistant coach Vale Cervarich. "She got a grip on how they were going to shoot and stepped up. She figured out her timing. I'm really proud of her."

The Bears return to action Sunday, April 16th, when they travel south to take on UC Santa Cruz on the Lower East Field at 1 p.m. California will host Stanford on Saturday, April 22nd, in its final home game of the season at 2 p.m.

GOALS: Cal - Arndt 2, Jensen 2, Monger 2, Wheatley 2, Kado 1, LeMoult 1, Davis - Breyer 2, Roberts 1, Snyder 1, Shargel 1, Ngoon 1. ASSISTS: Cal - Liu 2, Monger 2, Wheatley 2, LeMoult 1, Davis - Stonebarger 1, Breyer 1. SAVES: Cal - Coelho 16, Davis - McCall 9, Herschleb 3. SHOTS: Cal 25, Davis 22.