Women's Soccer
Records Fall As No. 20 Cal Tops UCLA, 7-0
BERKELEY - Name a record and there is a chance it fell Thursday afternoon as No. 20 California routed UCLA, 7-0, at Edwards Stadium in what was the biggest conference victory in California history.
Pac-12 Player of the Year candidate and potential All-American Arielle Ship scored her second hat trick of the season and added an assist for good measure to lead the Golden Bear (13-4-2, 6-3-0 Pac-12) attack to the seven-goal victory, matching the 1991 squad that earned a 7-0 win against Oregon State on Sept. 21, 1991 for the biggest conference win.
Sophomore Emily Boyd etched her name in the Cal record book by earning her 11th shutout of the season, matching the California single-season mark that was last set in 1996 by Karen Cook. Boyd also improved to a perfect 3-for-3 against penalty kicks this season after UCLA's Annie Alvarado missed her attempt in the 59th minute.
Field Hockey
Freshman Melina Moore's first collegiate hat trick wasn't enough to lift the Golden Bears over a surging Aggie offense as UC Davis edged Cal 4-3 with a last-minute goal Friday at Aggie Field Hockey Facility. Cal falls to 9-9 on the season, and 4-3 in the America East.
Cross-Country
The California men's and women's cross country teams repeated with identical seventh-place finishes at the 2014 Pac-12 Cross Country Championships that were held at the Colfax Golf Club in Colfax, Wash.
Volleyball
Surging Bears Knock Off No. 14 Arizona State
BERKELEY - After the first set Thursday against No. 14 Arizona State, Cal volleyball coach Rich Feller surveyed his team to see who was motivated to play.
Senior middle blocker Lillian Schonewise got the message.
The Bears' All-American continued her torrid play of late with 18 kills at a .469 hitting percentage and Cal roared back to defeat the Sun Devils, 14-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-22 at Haas Pavilion.
"When we were switching sides after the first set, Rich handed me the lineup card and told me to find six players who wanted to play," Schonewise said. "I was ready to fill it out, but he took it back."
Men's Basketball
Cal freshmen stars Brown, Rabb focused on school first
Ivan Rabb is so famous around Berkeley and San Francisco's East Bay that fellow California freshman and top recruit Jaylen Brown is doing his best to take the pressure off.
"This guy, this is young Iv right here," Brown said with a chuckle before Thursday's practice. "Oh, it's great. I kind of played a role for him like, 'No pictures, no pictures.' That's the role I play for Iv when he's walking around. It's cool just seeing that. I'm happy for him."
That's how Brown tells it anyway. He figures there are a few times a week when he's shooing away the crowd around Rabb, noting "it could happen multiple times in one day, sometimes I'm fighting off a group of people."
Rabb begs to differ.
"I guess," Rabb said with a sigh. "I think they're asking both of us for pictures. I don't know whose side of the story you're going to take. I would just say, take my side."
One thing nobody will argue is that these two are the new high-profile faces of the program, nationally ranked recruits landed by second-year Cal coach Cuonzo Martin who will make an immediate impact on the Golden Bears, who are picked to place second in the Pac-12 behind defending champion Arizona. Cal hasn't won a conference crown since capturing its first title in 50 years in 2009-10.
NBA scouts have been regulars inside Haas Pavilion to watch practice nearly every day, and a couple of scouts showed up at the start of Thursday's session. Most are there to see the 6-foot-7 Brown, from Marietta, Georgia, and 6-11 Rabb, out of Oakland's Bishop O'Dowd High.
Yet you'd hardly know Brown and Rabb are freshmen going through the transition to college life and a new level of basketball after all they did in high school and traveling the world with USA Basketball. Both are well-spoken, which they credit to guidance from their families, and unfazed by the hype surrounding the start of their highly anticipated college careers. They held their first interviews since school got underway and practice began, and since the team's August tour of Australia.
"We understand what's going on around us. At the end of the day rankings only matter on paper," Rabb said. "We're going to take advantage of these academics to become better men in life, too."
Tony Gonzalez
Bragging to my wife about Cal. Who wants to go to MIT or Harvard anyway? Haha #GoBears
Posted by Tony Gonzalez on Friday, October 30, 2015
Unbelievably humbled to be inducted into the Cal Hall Of Fame! It's great to be back on campus! Haven't been here in 17 years.
Posted by Tony Gonzalez on Friday, October 30, 2015
USC 27, California 21
ESPN Pac-12 Blog: USC keeps pace in Pac-12 South, beats Cal behind powerful rushing attack
The Golden Bears were the early aggressors Saturday -- a sharp Jared Goff and a resurgent run game put them on the board first -- but once the Trojans woke up, they never fell back asleep. USC's offensive line pounded Cal throughout the afternoon, opening running lanes for a stable of running backs who finished with 185 yards. Quarterback Cody Kessler benefited as a result, finishing 18-of-22 for 186 yards.
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What this loss means for Cal: Following their 5-0 start, the Bears have run into the exact trouble they feared once the schedule became more difficult. Cal has now lost three straight games, and their once-mighty offense continues to produce inconsistently. The Bears are still looking for a sixth win and bowl eligibility, and they'll take another crack at that next week against Oregon. Cal's inability to fully turn the corner, though, remains a point of frustration in Berkeley.