Utah Clipped by No. 20 Cal, 2-0

Sunday, October 8

Salt Lake City, Utah

2:00 PM

University of Utah

5-6-2, 0-4-1

California

10-2-1, 3-1-1

CAL

Utah

10/8/2017 5:37 PM | Soccer

Box Score Final Box

Utes dominate second half after allowing quick pair in first stanza

SALT LAKE CITY - Utah Soccer put forth a strong second-half effort but two goals in the first period gave No. 20 Cal a 2-0 victory on Sunday

"We played a terrific second half today, however, a full 90-minute performance is required in this conference and that continues to be an issue," head coach Rich Manning said. "We will take these lessons and keep working to improve. We look forward to the challenge."

Cal created a pair of early chances and then capitalized in the 19^th minute on a goal from Luca Deza. Haley Lucas served a long ball into the penalty area and as two Utah defenders went toward another Cal forward, Deza was able to corral the ball and slide it into goal while falling to the turf.

Utah pushed forward from that point as Hailey Skolmoski and Paola van der Veen fired tries toward Emily Boyd in the Cal goal.

The Golden Bears doubled their lead when a Utah defender slipped to create a 2v1 situation. Cal took advantage as Deza fed Abigail Kim for her sixth goal of the season.

Cal fell back defensively for the rest of the half as Skolmoski and Max Flom created the best chances for the Utes before the break.

Utah dominated the second half but was unlucky with a handful of its chances. Skolmoski forced another save from Boyd and was then fouled just outside the penalty area by the Cal keeper. That resulted in a yellow card and a scoring chance for Van der Veen that was blocked.

In the 53^rd minute, Tatum Thornton smashed a ball toward goal that Boyd was able to narrowly tip over the bar for a corner. Haley Farrar smashed a low drive at Boyd in the 69^th minute and the rebound fell to Flom. However, she was nudged by a defender and as both toppled to the ground, the ball trickled wide of goal.

Utah had another try from a free kick in the 78^th minute but Boyd corralled the Van der Veen attempt. In the final 10 minutes, Skolmoski had shots blocked and saved while Holly Daugirda and Haylee Cacciacarne also missed chances to get Utah on the board.

Utah travels to No. 1 UCLA for a Thursday night contest. Kick-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. PT on the Pac-12 Network.