BERKELEY, Calif. – California senior Laura Cavallo scored five goals on Senior Day in the Golden Bears' 18-9 rout of Saint Mary's on a sunny Tuesday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. The product of Bay Shore, N.Y., added an assist for a total of six points on the day for the Bears, who snapped a six-game losing streak and improved their record to 6-7 (2-2 MPSF). The Gaels fell to 3-11 (0-4 MPSF).

Attacker Liz Reifsnyder, another Cal senior, added three goals and one assist and junior midfielder Danni Zuralow scored three points (2 goals, 1 assist) for the Bears, who held a 9-1 halftime lead thanks in part to a first-half hat trick by Cavallo and the first goal of the season by sophomore Kiki Kalkstein. Cal senior defender Kathryn Lindler also contributed her first career assist to set up freshman Tighe Hutchins' goal at 18:03.

Senior goalkeeper Hilary Lynch made five saves in the first 30 minutes and almost collected a first-half shutout, but Saint Mary's scored its first goal of the game with one second remaining in the first period on Abbie Coleman's strike.

Saint Mary's came out strong in the second half, outscoring Cal, 3-1, on goals by Amber Lister, Maddie Marsh and Alex Oetken in the first 6:29 to cut Cal's lead to 10-4.

But Cal went on an 8-1 run to put the game away at 18-5 with 9:26 remaining. Gaels Jen Utley and Alana Burrough scored two goals apiece in the final minutes for the final 18-9 scoreline.

The game began after Cal honored its six seniors – Cavallo, Lynch, Reifsnyder, Lindler, defender Jocelyn Paul and defender Meghan Bushnell, a redshirt junior who will graduate this year.

"I'm just happy for them that they played well and they played together and they got to finish at home on a high note," Cal head coach Jill Malko said. "This class has been crucial in the development of our program, taking us from a strong team to one that's really competitive with top 20 teams. This group has shown a lot of maturity and leadership over the years. It's really been a great group of kids to work with."

"It hasn't hit me yet, that it's my last game here," Cavallo added. "It's more about the team and the people that you've met. In a way I'm ready to move on, but in a way how can I leave all these people who've had such a big impact in my life?"

Cal next faces 16th-ranked Denver at 1:00 p.m. MT on Saturday in Denver in its final game before the May 4-6 MPSF Championship in Davis, Calif.

2007-04-25