University of San Francisco Athletics

Box Score
Follow San Francisco Women's Soccer: FACEBOOK | TWITTER
 
2014 SCHEDULE | 2014 ROSTER
 
BERKELEY, Calif.—Amanda Whittle scored early in the second half to draw the Dons even but California proved too much as they dropped their season opener in Berkeley 3-1 on Friday night.
 
"It was a learning experience for us today," San Francisco head coach Jim Millinder said. "We've got a lot of soccer ahead of us. I told the girls after the game be disappointed with the result but we've got to come back Sunday afternoon and put that behind us and go forward and go get a result at [Nevada]."
 
The Dons will look to rebound on Sunday when they play at Nevada at 1 p.m. The trip to Nevada is to make up for a game originally scheduled to be in Reno last season but was moved due to the wildfires in region.
 
Cal broke through just after the halftime break when a couple of passes from the right wing found Lorin Hom on the left and her shot went just past the dive of Schiffel to put the Golden Bears up 1-0.
 
The Dons had not had many looks throughout the match but took advantage when the opportunity presented itself in the 58th minute when Whittle corralled a high ball at the top of the box and drilled it into the bottom left corner to tie the game.
 
The sophomore scored two goals last season with last coming on Nov. 3 against Loyola Marymount.
 
Cal battled back and in the 64th minute, Arielle Ship broke free and took a shot from 25 yards out the found the back of the net to give the Bears a 2-1 lead. The Bears tacked on a third goal in the 79th minute when Ifeoma Onumonu chipped it in from 10 feet out.
 
Cal fired 18 shots on the night with six coming on goal and Schiffel collected three saves on the night.
 
"We played hard but we didn't play very well though," Millinder said. "We needed to keep possession a little better because if we don't possess the ball at times and we're not more dangerous in the final third then we're defending a lot."
 
San Francisco had two freshmen, Allison Arriola and Sonja Giraud, make starts on Friday with three more coming in as reserves (Carissa Martine, Maddy Glaser and Camille Wilson) in their first collegiate match.
 
"I think it's people understanding each other," Millinder said. "It's a brand new season. There's a lot of different things that go into getting a result."
 
Dons are 4-2-1 since 2008 in season openers
 
Cal had a couple of chances in the seventh minute when Celeste Boureille had her shot blocked by Abigail Phillips, Taylor Comeau watched her kick hit off the crossbar and Arielle Ship's attempt went wide.
 
The Dons were able to survive and threaten in the 15th minute on a cross from Giraud that found Arriola at the top of the box but she was quickly surrounded by Cal defenders and unable to get a shot off.
 
In the 24th minute, Cal had another chance from the left wing when Comeau danced through traffic to find an opening but Schiffel made a brilliant diving save to keep the match scoreless.