• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

San Francisco Sports Today

San Francisco Sports News Continuously Updated

  • Baseball
    • A’s
    • Giants
  • Football
    • 49’ers
    • Raiders
  • Basketball
    • Kings
    • Warriers
  • Sharks
  • Earthquakes
  • Colleges
    • San Jose State
    • Stanford
    • University of California, Berkeley

Bears keep afloat: Drowned by Ducks, swim past Beavers

October 5, 2021 by The Daily Californian

Bears keep afloat: Drowned by Ducks, swim past Beavers

Photo of Cal Women's Soccer

Lisi Ludwig/Senior Staff

It’s a little over halfway through their fall 2021 season and the Bears have managed to keep afloat despite a number of early-season challenges. On Thursday, Oregon sank Cal 2-0 to end September’s slate of matches. The blue and gold then regrouped Sunday against Oregon State, thrashing the Beavers 2-1 to start the new month.

In its first of two Pac-12 matchups this past week, Cal came out flat. Beyond the statistics, in which the Bears took 11 shots to the Ducks’ 10, the game appeared to be one-sided. While Oregon capitalized on gaps in the Bears’ typically steady backline, Cal struggled to keep up.

“They’re very well organized, very well coached… We also knew that they had good speed behind our line,”said head coach Neil McGuire. “Their strength in set pieces was something we couldn’t stop.”

By the 26th minute, the Ducks’ first score came earlier than the Bears had planned. During a routine corner kick by Oregon, a Cal defender rifled the ball abruptly past junior goalkeeper Angelina Anderson in a demoralizing own goal.

Thereafter, Cal’s climb was an uphill battle.

In the 54th minute, the Ducks mounted on the pressure. Off of a perfectly placed cross from Oregon midfielder Caitlin Shaw, defender Anna Phillips was there for a header that slid through the right side of the goal. To try and answer back, the Bears had arguably their closest scoring opportunity in the 86th minute of action.

From a through ball by senior defender Sydney Collins, freshman forward Karlie Lema nearly pocketed a rocket past Oregon goalkeeper Leah Freeman. But Freeman, who currently owns an impressive save percentage of nearly 88%, dove to her left in time to punt away the shot and shut out the Bears in Berkeley.

Oregon now sits in the fifth overall spot in the conference with a record of 6-1-4. Previously behind them was its rival in Oregon State, which boasted nine total wins and only one loss heading into Sunday’s matchup against the Bears.

“Our players came in with the right mindset in preparation for a challenge in Oregon State,” Mcguire said. “We were more composed with the ball. We were more poised with possession. … We were able to keep the ball longer, making it more difficult for them to use their counterattack.”

Back in Edwards Stadium for its third consecutive home game, Cal outpaced the Beavers right from kickoff. By setting up offensive opportunities through its midfield unit, including senior Paige Metayer, junior Kaylee Nguyen and freshman Marleen Rohde, the home team looked comfortably in control throughout 90 minutes of play.

In setting the tempo, Cal struck gold first. Fourteen minutes before the halftime break, the Bears charged their way down the attacking third. Freshman forward Alexis Wright grounded a shot straight to Oregon State goalkeeper Bridgette Skiba, who fumbled the ball while attempting to recover from her feet. Swooping in for a finish was junior forward Natalie Hueston, who flew the ball high above the head of a stumbling Skiba and into the back of the net.

Remarkably, even having outshot the Beavers 19 to four, Cal’s second goal didn’t come until the 81st minute. Off a corner kick, Rohde converted while falling to her feet a couple of feet out from the goal line — the German local’s first-ever goal with the team.

“Marleen can play a number of positions. She can play the six, she can play the eight, she can play the ten — so, ultimately anywhere in the midfield, centrally,” McGuire said. “We know she’s a goal-scoring threat… but she can also control the tempo of the game.”

Oregon State also had its fair share of impressive moments. In just two minutes after the Bears had connected on its first goal, the Beavers answered back on a set piece: Forward Brianna McReynolds drilled a shot from distance to put her team back on the board. But after such a spectacular play, Oregon State failed to follow up with another score.

With Sunday’s win, Cal is now tied for the fifth-best team in the Pac-12, alongside Oregon and Colorado. Having racked up four total points since the start of conference play, the Bears remain just as competitive as their neighboring counterparts and hope to continue swimming for future games.

“This year, the depth in the conference is as good as I’ve seen it,” McGuire said. “We know that every match is going to be a challenge. … But, we are continuing to grow from strength to strength on the details and look forward to our next two matches.”

Ryan Chien covers women’s soccer and is a deputy sports editor. Contact him at rchien@dailycal.org.

The Daily Californian

Filed Under: University of California, Berkeley

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • 49ers fans are predicting a big bounce back year for Brock Purdy
  • 49ers 90-in-90: Is Kurtis Rourke a Mac Jones replacement down the line?
  • Minor League roundup, 7/2: Kai-Wei Teng seizes the opportunity
  • Nikolaj Ehlers chooses Carolina Hurricanes, taking NHL’s top free agent off market
  • Sharks Sign Dmitry Orlov, Claim Nick Leddy

Categories

  • 49'ers
  • A's
  • Earthquakes
  • Giants
  • Kings
  • Raiders
  • San Jose State
  • Sharks
  • Stanford
  • Uncategorized
  • University of California, Berkeley
  • Warriers

Archives

  • July 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021

Our Partners

All Sports

  • San Francisco Chronicle
  • San Francisco Examiner
  • The Mercury News
  • 247 Sports
  • Bleacher Report
  • Forgotten 5
  • Golden Gate Sports
  • The Sports Fan Journal
  • The Spun
  • USA Today

Baseball

  • San Francisco Giants
  • Oakland A's
  • Last Word On Baseball - Oakland A's
  • Last Word On Baseball - San Francisco Giants
  • MLB Trade Rumors - A's
  • MLB Trade Rumors - Giants
  • White Cleat Beat
  • Around The Foghorn
  • Athletics Nation
  • McCovey Chronicles

Basketball

  • Golden State Warriors
  • Sacramento Kings
  • A Royal Pain
  • Amico Hoops - Kings
  • Amico Hoops - Warriors
  • Blue Man Hoop
  • Golden State Of Mind
  • Hoops Hype - Warriors
  • Hoops Hype - Kings
  • Hoops Rumors - Warriors
  • Hoops Rumors - Kings
  • Lets Go Warriors
  • Last Word On Pro Basketball - Golden State
  • Last Word On Pro Basketball - Sacramento
  • Pro Basketball Talk - Warriors
  • Pro Basketball Talk - Kings
  • Real GM - Warriors
  • Real GM - Kings
  • Sactown Royalty

Football

  • San Francisco 49ers
  • Las Vegas Raiders
  • 49ers Gab
  • Just Blog Baby
  • Last Word On Pro Football
  • NFL Trade Rumors - San Francisco 49ers
  • NFL Trade Rumors - Las Vegas Raiders
  • Niners Nation
  • Niner Noise
  • Niners Wire
  • Our Turf Football
  • Pro Football Rumors - 49ers
  • Pro Football Rumors - Raiders
  • Pro Football Talk - 49ers
  • Pro Football Talk - Raiders
  • Raiders Wire
  • Silver And Black Pride
  • Total 49ers

Hockey

  • Blades Of Teal
  • Fear The Fin
  • Last Word On Hockey
  • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Talk
  • The Hockey Writers

Soccer

  • Center Line Soccer
  • Last Word on Soccer
  • MLS Multiplex

College

  • Busting Brackets
  • California Golden Blogs
  • College Sports Madness
  • College Football News
  • Rule Of Tree
  • Saturday Blitz
  • The Daily Californian
  • The Stanford Daily
  • Zags Blog

Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in