The University of Utah soccer team added another win to their record on the road in California against the University of California Berkeley.
This victory was the first ever for the Utes against the Golden Bears. Utah scored two goals, and Cal managed only one for a 2-1 win.
Cal took the lead early on in the first half with a goal from Abigail Kim and they held that lead until the second half.
Two goals from Paola Van der Veen and Makayla Christensen in the first ten minutes of the second half solidified the lead for the Utes, and they were able to keep that lead through the end of the play.
“It was a tale of two halves,” said head coach Rich Manning to Utah Athletics. “We did not start well and Cal jumped on us. At half, we talked about coming out with better energy and being more aggressive. We took it to them for the first 20 minutes of the half by playing with energy and pressure.”
Van der Veen and Ireland Dunn each had a number of chances to score early, but their attempts were unsuccessful until the second half.
The second half started out with a wide shot from Max Flom, and five minutes later there was a shot on goal that went in.
Dunn took the ball wide and carefully placed a shot on goal. When that kick ricocheted off of the post, Christensen was in the perfect spot to knock the ball right past the Cal goalkeeper. This was her third goal of the season.
The second goal for Utah came with another assist from Dunn. She passed the ball from the end line back to Van der Veen, who knocked the ball to the post for her seventh goal of the season.
Cal was unable to capitalize on any of their attempts on goal. They had a corner kick in the final minute of play but were not able to score, and Utah cleared the ball and it went out of play before the game ended.
“We are playing with a lot of confidence and we will continue to do what we have been doing,” Manning said to Utah Athletics. “We have had a lot of success because we are trying to improve on doing all the little things better.”
In their next game, Utah will return to Salt Lake City to face UCLA on Thursday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.
