Women’s College Cup Preview: 8 teams from California aiming for national title

Postseason play is here and eight teams from California will be competing for the 2015 Women’s College Cup title. A field of 64 teams has been announced with first round action starting on Friday night and lasting throughout the weekend.

Stanford and Berkeley look to be favorites to win the title, but other teams like Santa Clara and CSU Fullerton will be looking to make their marks. Below is a preview for all the California teams who earned a spot in the College Cup.

Click here to see a full list of 283 players from California who are representing 46 different schools in the College Cup.

 Friday, November 13

The first match of the 2015 Women’s College Cup features two teams from California squaring off in Los Angeles. CSU Fullerton enters the match in great form, having won eight of its last nine games, including five shutouts. CSU Fullerton is led by seniors Christina Burkenroad (10 goals, 11 assists) and Rebecca Wilson (18 goals, 9 assists) who both contributed to CSU Fullerton’s third consecutive Big West Conference Tournament title.USC enters the match on a high after defeating UCLA last week for the first time in program history. USC finished second in the Pac-12 this year and is led by Kayla Mills (Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year) and Morgan Andrews, who both earned All-PaC-12 First Team honors. The USC defense has been outstanding this year only allowing just 11 goals in 20 matches.#3 Stanford (16-2-1) vs San Jose State (10-7-4)
at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium (Stanford) 7:00 p.m. PT | Watch Live

Stanford enters the College Cup as the Pac-12 Conference Champions. The Cardinal went undefeated in conference play (10-0-1) and scored a conference-high 35 goals this year while allowing just 11 goals. Stanford is led by center backs Alana Cook (Pac-12 Freshman of the Year) and Maddie Bauer. Stanford’s strength is its chemistry. The team-high or goals scored this year was just five. However, Stanford did get goals from 12 different players this season.

San Jose State makes its first postseason appearance since 2000. The Spartans enter the match as Mountain West Champions after outlasting San Diego State on penalties, 4-2, in the championship match. San Jose State is led by Darriell Franklin (9 goals, 2 assists) and Dorthe Hoppius (8 goals, 3 assists).

 

Saturday, November 14

#12 Santa Clara (13-5-2) vs Long Beach State (11-6-3)
at Buck Shaw Stadium (Santa Clara) 1:00 p.m. PT | Watch Live

Santa Clara marks its return to postseason play in a thrilling fashion. In double overtime against Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference title match, a goal from Jenna Holtz with less than five seconds on the clock propelled Santa Clara to a 3-2 win. Santa Clara enjoyed a very strong season and is led by Julie Vass (8 goals, 1 assist) and Dani Weatherholt (3 goals, 2 assists).

Long Beach State makes its fifth College Cup appearance in eight years. Long Beach State suffered a 1-0 loss to Cal State Fullerton in the Big West Tournament championship match, but received one of 33 at-large bids. The team is led by Ashley Gonzales (8 goals, 1 assist) and Melanie Fox (4 goals, 2 assists).

 

#3 California (13-5-3) vs Loyola Marymount (13-5-1)
at Edwards Stadium (Berkeley) 12:00 p.m. PT 

California earned its 12 consecutive NCAA Tournament bid after finishing 4th in Pac-12 Conference standings. Cal is led by Pac-12 Player of the Year Arielle Shipp (14 goals, 6 assists) who scored six game-winning goals this year.

Loyola Marymount enters the College Cup for just the third time in program history. Loyola Marymount matched the program high in wins this year with 13 and were undefeated on their home pitch. The team is led by Jocelyn Blakenship (7 goals, 5 assists) and Morgan Hilby (5 goals, 2 assists).