Sept. 17, 2011
Final Stats
EVANSTON, Ill. -
It took a last-minute goal from sophomore Andrea Earle to send Saturday's game against No. 18 Virginia to overtime. Freshman Lara Kruggel hit the game winning goal in the extra period to give the No. 11 California Golden Bears the 4-3 victory.
The Bears jumped out to an early lead, getting on the scoreboard less than five minutes into the game when junior midfielder Kendra Bills took a shot from the middle of the circle that found its way into the left side of the cage.
Virginia had a flurry of offensive activity twenty minutes into the first half. They had three corners and four shots in a span of four minutes with the Cavaliers Elly Buckley tapping in the equalizer at the 23:43 mark. Virginia scored a second first-period goal to take a 2-0 lead into the halftime break.
"I thought we started the game very solid and had good control," said Cal head coach Shellie Onstead. "We had a good energy. The two teams were very evenly matched. The goal at the end of the second half came when momentum swung their way."
California dominated the start of the second half, not allowing Virginia to take a shot in the first twenty minutes of the period while keeping the pressure up on the offensive end. The pressure paid off at the 56:47 mark when a shot by senior defender Erin Magill was blocked. Freshman forward Lara Kruggel was there to pick up the rebound, smacking it in to tie the game, 2-2.
The game seemed destined to go to overtime when the Cavaliers scored a goal with less than four minutes remaining, giving them a 3-2 advantage.
"I called a time out to calm the team down," Onstead said. "Then we went back out there and did what we had to do."
After Cal had a penalty corner with 56 seconds left in the game, Andrea Earle ended up with the ball and scored the game-tying goal with 42 seconds left in the game.
In overtime, Kruggel struck again, scoring the game winner just shy of two minutes into the OT, hitting a shot from 12 yards out to win the game for the Bears.
"We had momentum and adrenaline on our side after tying the game in the final minute," Onstead said. "We created an opportunity in the overtime and Lara finished strong. She had a whole lot of people all over her when she scored that goal, but she got it done."
The victory, which improves Cal's record to 6-1, is Cal's fifth victory over a ranked team this season. No. 18-ranked Virginia falls to 4-3 on the season.
Cal will conclude the present road trip on Monday when they travel to Ohio to take on Kent State.
