__Tribe earns second straight home victory over non-conference foe__
**Tribe 16, Cal 10**
Coming off a victory against 10th-ranked Stanford University, the Tribe’s momentum helped it pick up another win against a West Coast opponent, defeating the University of California—Berkeley, 16-10.
p. The College had trouble finding its rhythm early on in the game, allowing three goals in the first five minutes following a turnover and two lost draws. Junior midfielder Claire Dennis helped shake the Tribe out of its slow start, sparking an 8-1 run as she knifed through the defense to score from the top of the crease.
p. The College put together three more goals in the next two minutes to take a 4-3 advantage with 22:30 remaining in the first half. Senior midfielder Jaime Sellers was a big part of the comeback, contributing two of her four goals during that stretch.
p. Following the charge, both teams tightened up their defense, holding each other scoreless in the next four minutes. Freshman goalkeeper Emily Geary came up big for the Tribe during the span, recording several saves on her way to her fourth straight game with 10 or more saves. Geary received plenty of support from senior defender Ashley Bolton, who disrupted the Cal offense and forced a pair of turnovers.
p. Following the drought, the Tribe traded goals with the Golden Bears before finishing out the half with three more scores to take a 7-4 lead at the break. The College’s constant offensive pressure was the key to its early success as it out-shot Cal 20-12 in the first half.
p. “I think we played well as a collective unit, and a lot of girls had great games, particularly Sellers and Dennis,” Head Coach Christine Halfpenny said.
p. The Tribe continued to control the game on offense and executed well to start the second half. Quick passing freed up freshman attacker Maggie Anderson and sophomore Katie Rees for goals to stretch the College’s lead to 10-5.
p. However, the Golden Bears quickly mounted a charge of their own over the next two minutes, cutting their deficit to two at 10-8. Following a timeout, the Tribe regained its composure as Sellers and freshman midfielder Grace Golden combined for four goals to extend the lead to six with 11:11 remaining. The deficit proved too much for Cal who traded goals in the final minutes before falling 16-10 on the road.
p. “We really kept up our intensity the whole game and played well together,” Sellers said. Sellers’s four-goal performance extended her streak of games with three or more goals to 10 straight games.
p. The Tribe will look to keep its winning streak alive against CAA rival James Madison University Thursday at 7 p.m. in the start of a seven conference game stretch.
