No. 23 California Clips Utah Soccer, 2-0

Sunday, October 18

Berkeley, Calif.

11:00 AM

University of Utah

5-7-3, 2-4-0Pac-12

No. 23 California

11-3-2, 4-2-0Pac-12

Utah

California

10/18/2015 12:00 AM | Soccer

Box Score

Oct. 18, 2015

Final Stats

Berkeley, Calif. - Utah soccer suffered a loss at No. 23 Cal this afternoon, 2-0. The Utes (5-7-3, 2-4-0) could not recover after a pair of first-half goals from the Golden Bears (10-3-2, 4-2-0).

"We are disappointed in the result of today's game," head coach Rich Manning said. "However, I thought we played with energy and had some moments of quality. Giving up the early goal made our task more difficult. We fought hard to get back in the game and created some good opportunities."

Taylor Slattery had the first try of the game sail wide in the seventh minute and after earning consecutive corners, Katie Rogers popped one over the bar.

Lindsey Luke was called into action when she stopped Samantha Witteman in the 21st minute. A few moments later, a Utah foul set up a free-kick situation. Indigo Gibson played a lovely thru-ball to Witteman who crossed the ball in front. Arielle Ship pounced on it for her 11th goal of the season and a 1-0 Cal lead.

Utah earned a free kick in the opposing end and Trabert put a header on goal that was saved by Emily Boyd. A long Luke goal kick then produced another chance as Slattery got to the ball and flashed a try wide.

Luke momentarily kept it a one-goal game when she denied Celeste Boureille off a corner in the 35th minute.. However, seconds later, Witteman found Ifeoma Onumonu with a thru-ball that created a 1v1 situation. The Cal senior came through with her second of the season for a 2-0 lead.

In the second half, Utah had a try off a corner just five minutes in but Rogers had her header blocked away.

Luke stood tall in the Utah goal, stopping Ship on a pair of occasions in the second half. She also stopped the other goal scorer for Cal, Onumonu, off a counter attack that resulted from a Utah corner. The senior goalkeeper finished with five saves on the day.

"Kaycee Buckley and Katie were excellent on the ball in the midfield," Manning added. "Megan Trabert and Paola van der Veen moved the ball for us in the back. Baylee Nielsen got forward and was dangerous on the wing. We hope to build on these positives heading into next week's games."

The Utes are back in action with the second of three in a row on the road next Friday. Utah travels to Los Angeles for a contest at USC at 2 p.m. PT.