WSU falls to Cal 1-0 in Berkeley, now 0-3 in Pac-12 play
WSU senior forward Kaitlyn Johnson pushes the ball toward the goalie box in a match against Colorado at Lower Soccer Field on Sept. 23. Johnson took two shots in Sunday’s loss to California in Berkeley.
October 3, 2016
A late goal scored off a penalty kick by No. 17 Cal sealed the WSU women’s soccer team’s fate Sunday afternoon
WSU fell 1-0 to the Golden Bears and the loss marked the team’s third-consecutive defeat and dropped its record to 5-5-1 and 0-3 in conference play.
The WSU offense leapt into the first half ready to score from the outset. WSU first had a chance to score in the sixth minute when senior midfielder Nicolle Marlow fed the ball to freshman forward Morgan Weaver whose shot flew just over the top crossbar of the goal. The Cougars had another scoring opportunity in the 12th minute when they took a free kick from the top of the box, but the shot went wide.
The Cougar defense faced pressure from Cal in the following minutes as the Golden Bears dominated ball possession in the match.
Junior midfielder Chelsea Harkins nearly put a goal on the board for the Cougars in the 28th minute when she launched a shot from 30 yards out. Cal goalkeeper junior Emily Boyd tipped the ball away to keep the score at 0-0 and give WSU another corner kick.
The two teams were identical on the stat line after the first 45 minutes of play, with each team having taken six shots and two corner kicks at the half.
The Cougars immediately controlled the action to start the second half but were unable to make a play to pull ahead of the Golden Bears.
WSU Senior forward Kaitlyn Johnson had a strong performance in the midfield and nearly assisted Weaver on a goal in the 60th minute but the shot was shut down by the goalkeeper.
Senior midfielder Kailiana Johnson was called for a penalty in the goalie box in the 77th minute of play that resulted in a Cal penalty kick. Cal senior forward Arielle Ship took the shot for the Golden Bears and sent the ball past WSU goalkeeper redshirt sophomore Ella Dederick to put Cal up for good at 1-0.
The win bumps Cal’s record to 10-2 overall and 3-0 in the Pac-12.
Cal outshot the Cougars 16-15 in the match. Kailiana Johnson led WSU in shooting with three shots, and was followed by Kaitlyn Johnson, Weaver, Harkins and junior defender Jordan Branch, who each tallied two.
The Cougars will return to their home pitch on Thursday to take on the Arizona Wildcats. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. at the Lower Soccer Field in Pullman, and can be followed on the WSU live stream at wsucougars.com.
Reporting by Payton Dineen.
