BERKELEY – No. 23 California remained perfect at home after Arielle Ship and Ifeoma Onumonu led the Bears to a 2-0 win against Utah Sunday at Edwards Stadium.

The Bears (11-3-2, 4-2-0 Pac-12) scored both first half goals courtesy of two assists from senior Samantha Witteman as Cal won its season-best fifth consecutive game to improve to 7-0-0 in Berkeley this season. The win also keeps Cal unbeaten in the all-time series against the Utes (5-7-3, 2-4-0 Pac-12).

Ship continued her argument for Pac-12 Player of the Year honors by scoring her league-leading 11th goal at 22:27 via assists from Witteman and Indigo Gibson in what would be the eventual game-winning goal – her fifth game-winner which is also a league-best.

Onumonu then added her second tally of the season with a nutmeg on the Utah goalkeeper at 36:19 after Witteman again slotted a perfect ball behind the backline. Witteman, who scored the game-winning goal in Cal's 1-0 win against No. 19 Santa Clara three days ago, had a hand in all four Golden Bear goals this weekend to help keep Cal in the hunt for the Pac-12 title.

“They were great goals and great buildups,” said Witteman, who had her first career multi-assist game Sunday. “We used different services and combinations to get in, and it worked out to our advantage. I'm feeling really confident and I couldn't be happier.”

Sophomore Emily Boyd registered her ninth shutout this season thanks to a defensive effort that only allowed one Utah shot on goal in 90 minutes. Boyd's nine shutouts move her two shy of the single-season program record of 11 shutouts set by Karen Cook in 1996. With 15 shutouts midway through her sophomore season, Boyd is just 11 clean sheets shy of the all-time mark of 26.5 set by Maite Zabala from 1997-00.

Senior Karly Graf earned her first start of the season on the backline and helped the Golden Bear defense that allowed only that lone shot on goal in the game.

California hits the road next weekend with a trip to the state of Washington to take on the Washington Huskies and the Washington State Cougars.

Goal Summary

22:27, Cal – Arielle Ship (Samantha Witteman, Indigo Gibson) – Through ball down right side, centered by #26 for one-touch goal

36:19, Cal – Ifeoma Onumonu (Samantha Witteman) – #26 fed #22 past the backline, nutmegged GK

Head Coach Neil McGuire 's Take



"This has been a great weekend for our ladies. Starting with a hard fought win over a talented Santa Clara team, followed by a good conference win today versus Utah."

"It was great to see Ifeoma get back to her scoring ways, and have Ari find another goal, but the team performance was most important."

"We are excited about the upcoming matches in Washington."

News & Notes

● California improves to a perfect 7-0-0 at Edwards Stadium this season with the win, getting six shutouts in those seven wins

● California continues its series dominance, improving to 6-0-2 all-time against Utah

● California has now won five consecutive games, the longest winning streak of the season. The Bears are three games away from matching the eight-game unbeaten streak from early in the year

● Samantha Witteman had a hand in every goal this weekend after assisting both Cal goals Sunday and scoring Cal's goal against Santa Clara Thursday

● Arielle Ship notched her Pac-12 leading 11th goal, 26th point and 5th game-winning goal

● Emily Boyd earned her ninth shutout of the season, two shy of the California single-season shutout record of 11 set in 1996

● The Bears limited Utah to just one shot on goal in the game, that attempt coming in the first half

● Ifeoma Onumonu's second goal of the season, her first coming against Duke

● The Golden Bears have not lost a game this season in which they have scored at least two goals, moving to 7-0-0 in those contests

On The Horizon

California hits the road next weekend with a trip to the state of Washington to take on the Washington Huskies and the Washington State Cougars.