Women’s soccer set to take on Bay Area rival Cal

March 17, 2021, 7:50 p.m.

Stanford women’s soccer (4-2, 3-1 Pac-12) faces off against long-time rival Cal (3-2, 2-2 Pac-12) on Saturday in what fans can expect to be an intense battle of the Bay teams.

So far this season, Cal has picked up wins against Oregon State and Oregon 𑁋 both of which defeated the Cardinal 𑁋 as well as Utah. The Bears’ two losses came against Washington and Colorado in narrow defeats.

As for what will happen this weekend, it is anyone’s game. Against the Bears, the Cardinal have a home record of 6-2-1, with its last loss coming in 2013 by a small 0-1 margin. Overall, the Cardinal has a 14-5-1 record against the Bears, never having lost more than two games in a row (2005-2006). Stanford is currently on a four game win streak. 

Last season, Stanford dominated the match, winning by four goals to none. However, similar to most games, the primary goal scorers from last season are no longer on the roster. Fans will look to emerging stars such as junior forward Civana Kuhlmann and freshman forwards/midfielders Samantha Williams, Amy Sayer, Sarah Paulson and Catherine Paulson. Senior forward — and 2021 NWSL seventh overall pick — Madison Haley is patiently waiting to grab her first goal of the season. 

On the defensive end, the Cardinal will be relying heavily on senior defender/midfielder and fourth overall 2021 NWSL draft pick Kiki Pickett as well as emerging defensive powerhouses such as sophomore defender Kennedy Wesley and freshman defender Julia Leontini. 

Expect to also see star sophomore keeper Katie Meyer rack up more saves. Meyer currently has 19 saves on the season, allowing only six goals so far. She has started all of the games this season and has tallied a total of 530 minutes on the field. 

On the Bears’ side, senior forward Emma Westin could give the Cardinal some trouble with three goals to her name so far this year. Additionally, sophomore keeper Angelina Anderson has 15 saves thus far after playing the entirety of Cal’s five games. 

Coming off a canceled game last weekend, and only one match this week, Stanford should be charged up and ready to go. A winning goal from Paulson against Washington and a last-minute goal from Kuhlmann against Colorado the week before gives Stanford fans hope of watching this team gain momentum. 

Cal will visit Stanford on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. PT. The game can be watched here on the Pac-12 Network.

Stanford will visit Cal again for its last match of the season on April 16.

Jenna Ruzekowicz is a staff writer in the sports section. She is a sophomore from Syracuse, New York majoring in Computer Science. Her teams include: Portland Thorns, Arsenal and Man City. Contact her at jruzekowicz 'at' stanforddaily.com.

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