Feb. 10, 2001

BERKELEY, Calif. - California could not buy a goal in the second half of Saturday's season opener against Stanford, dropping a 7-4 Western Women's Lacrosse League decision to the Cardinal inside Memorial Stadium. Freshman midfielder Julianne Wu scored two goals in her first game as a Golden Bear to lead the California attack.

"We outplayed them," said California head coach Jill Malko. "It was one of those weird anomalies where you play well and lose. It's very frustrating."

Wu opened up the 2001 season with California's first goal 7:34 into the match, handing the Bears a 1-0 lead that would last for 7:51 before sophomore attacker Addie Strumolo would even the game up for Stanford (1-0 overall, 1-0 in the WWLL) on an assist from senior midfielder Katharine Barnes.

Junior attacker Laura Kado, the Bears' second-leading scorer last season, then stepped up, taking a solo shot with 12:23 remaining in the first half to regain the lead, 2-1, for California (0-1 overall, 0-1 in the WWLL). A struggle for ball control and shooting space would ensue before Stanford was able to break the ice, scoring twice with just over a minute to play in the half, handing the Cardinal what appeared to be a safe 3-2 lead for halftime. That was not the case, however. Freshman attacker Colleen O'Mara proved her shot with 0:54 remaining on the clock to tie the game at 3-3 off an assist from junior attacker Halsey Monger, just in time for recess.

"We hadn't seen a good goalie yet, but now we have and it made a difference," said Malko. "I think we need to improve our shooting. We struggled in our transition from defense to offense and we need to work on that."

Stanford was able to score two more goals in the eighth and ninth minutes of the second half to open up a 5-3 lead on the Bears that pushed California back on its heels. Wu came through with a spark with 14:36 left in the game though, closing the Cardinal lead to just one, 5-4.

"I thought we were tentative," said Malko. "I felt like we were reacting and not taking control, especially when we were down. I think Julianne had a great game. She played with a lot of presence for a freshman. Alana Dunnigan had a fantastic game too. She created a lot of opportunities by forcing turnovers."

Despite the surge in confidence, the Bears were struck with yet another blow when Stanford scored with 10:47 remaining on the clock, regaining a two goal lead, 6-4. That would prove to be enough, as the Bears could not organize an effective counterattack in the final minutes. The Cardinal added their last goal with 1:06 on the clock.

"There was a little bit of stand and watch," said Malko. "We took 21 shots in the second half and only got one goal. I felt like we outplayed them but we weren't able to convert. Their goalie did a great job."

California returns to action Saturday, Feb. 24th, at UC Davis in a 1 p.m. league game.

GOALS: Cal - Wu 2, Kado 1, O'Mara 1, Stanford - Hills 2, Lanese 2, Barnes 1, Stason 1, Strumolo 1. ASSISTS: Cal - Monger 1, Stanford - Barnes 2, Dietrich 1, Nyborg 1. SAVES: Cal - Coelho 10, Stanford - Neumann 16. SHOTS: Cal 33, Stanford 22.