Bears Open NCAA Championship In Malibu
The California women’s soccer team (12-5-2) is headed to Malibu for the first round of the NCAA Championship as the Golden Bears will face seventh-seeded and 22nd-ranked Pepperdine Saturday on ESPN+.
Match Information
No. 22 Pepperdine (12-3-5)
· Date and Time: Saturday, Nov. 14 – 12 p.m. PT
· Location: Tari Frahm Rokus Field
· Live Stream: ESPN+
· Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Tickets
Tickets are available at PepperdineWaves.com and are limited. Bleacher seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis, so fans are encouraged to bring their own chairs.
Postseason History
This is the 28th NCAA Championship appearance for the Bears and 14th under head coach Neil McGuire. Cal has an all-time record of 15-24-4 in the tournament and will be searching for its first win since 2014 when the Bears defeated San Diego State 3-2 at home. The last time the Bears won a first-round match on the road was in 2012 – a 1-0 win over Pepperdine at the same stadium as Saturday’s game. In more recent memory the Waves got the best of the Bears in 2016, advancing to the second round by winning a penalty kick shootout 3-2 following a 1-1 draw in regulation.
Waves Watch
The host Waves come into the weekend with a 12-3-5 overall record after earning a share of the WCC championship with No. 11 Santa Clara. The Broncos were granted the automatic bid to the NCAA Championship due to goal differential. This will be the 14th NCAA Championship appearance for the Waves and their first since they made a Sweet 16 run in 2021. The Waves and Bears had six common opponents this season in UC San Diego, Santa Clara, Gonzaga, San Francisco, San Diego and Saint Mary’s. Pepperdine went 4-0-2 against those teams while Cal went 4-1-1. The Waves’ most notable win of the season came on Sept. 1 when they defeated then third-ranked UCLA 1-0.
Pepperdine received 10 All-WCC selections, including WCC Offensive Player of the Year Tori Waldeck and WCC Midfielder of the Year Karina Gonzalez.
The Lema Legend
Last week, senior forward Karlie Lema was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-ACC. She became the first Bear to win a major postseason award since Angelina Anderson took home the Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year award in 2019 and the first field player to take home top honors since Arielle Ship…
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