Huskies Fall To No. 17 Cal 4-1

Thursday, September 29

Berkeley, Calif.

4:30 PM

University of Washington

0-25-5-1 | P12

California

2-09-2 | P12

Washington

California

September 29, 2016 | Women's Soccer

Box Score Cal Final Box

BERKELEY, Calif. – After scoring the first goal of the match in the 14th minute, the Washington women's soccer team was unable to hold onto the lead, falling to California 4-1 on the road.

"I thought we were defending well in the front half and disciplined in our press," said Washington head coach Lesle Gallimore. "We won balls in good spots and were able to attack and create."

Handling the ball around midfield, captain Shannon Simon took a few steps with the ball before firing from long range at the Cal goal, sending a long lob over the keeper and into the back of the net to give UW an early 1-0 lead. The goal was Simon's fifth score on the season, which leads the team, and second in the past three games.

Nearly 30 seconds later however, Cal answered back with a goal of their own by Ifeoma Onumonu to tie the match. A little over 10 minutes later, Onumonu scored again to give Cal a 2-1 lead, which they would carry into the half.

"We let them get into our back line too easily and gave up three goals that were simply due to lack of communication and reading the game," said Gallimore. "We are young in several positions and in this league you learn the hard way a lot of times."

In the second half the Huskies pressed on offense for the equalizer, with Simon sending a hard hit ball toward the goal that was blocked by the Cal defense five minutes in. Later in the half, Becca Schoales fielded a ball near the top of the box, turning and taking a shot that was stopped by the keeper.

Following a Husky throw in, Havana McElvaine sent a high-arcing lob into the box from just over the half into fellow senior Miranda Rawlings, who just missed her touch on the ball, sending the shot across the front of the goal. Moments later, Cal scored a third goal to take the 3-1 lead in the 73rd minute.

As the game winded down and the Huskies pressed for a score, the Bears snuck another ball into the goal on a counter, setting the final score at 4-1. The Huskies now look towards Sunday, when they will face the top-ranked team in the country in Stanford at 2 p.m. on Pac-12 Network Washington.

"Cal has a strong and dynamic team and we didn't stay disciplined or focused enough to make that game more competitive," said Gallimore. "We will regroup and compete harder against Stanford on Sunday."