The California Golden Bears women's soccer team represent

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

women's college soccer. The team has never won the ACC regular season championship, but has shared the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

championship once. The team has advanced to the NCAA Women's soccer tournament 28 times, including three College Cup appearances.

History

1980s

The program began play in 1982 with an undefeated season. The Bears went 6–0–0, but were not invited to the inaugural NCAA Tournament. Bill Merrell took over the team in 1983 and they finished 10–2–3 and advanced to the Quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. The team bettered its NCAA result as the Golden Bears reached the Semifinals in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, but lost the third place match against Massachusetts. After a season of not qualifying for the tournament in 1985, Merrell was replaced by Peter Reynaud. Reynaud would only coach for one season, where the Golden Bears went 16–3–1, and reached the Quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. Jean-Paul Verhees coached the team in 1987 and 1988, to great success. The Golden Bears posted a 16–1–0 record in 1987 and a 16–5–2 record in 1988. In both years, they reached the Semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. They only loss in 1987 was to National Champion,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

in the Semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. Bill Merrill took back over the team in 1989 to close the decade. The Golden Bears finished 14–3–1, but did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

1990s

Bill Merrell's last season coaching the Golden Bears was 1990, where the team finished 11–6–2 and was not invited to the NCAA Tournament. Andy Bonchonsky took over the team in 1991 and was the head coach for six seasons. Bonchonsky's tenure yielded lower win totals and only one NCAA qualification: a first round exit in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

. The Golden Bears had double-digit win totals in every year except 1982 until 1991. From 1991 to 1996, they only had two seasons with at least ten wins, 1993 and 1996. They set a program record for lowest wins, at five, in 1994. In 1995, the Golden Bears began league play in the

, which was then known as the Pac-10. They finished their first season 3–4 in conference play. 1996 was a high mark for Bonchonsky, when the team finished 13–3–2 and 5–2–0 in conference play to finish in second place. However, that was not enough to prevent a coaching change, as Kevin Boyd took over in 1997. Boyd went 11–7–1 in his first season and 6–3–0 in conference play to finish in fourth place. The Golden Bears had thirteen wins in both 1998 and 1999, and broke a four-year drought of qualifying for the NCAA tournament in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

. However, they were unable to advance past the First Round. 1998 was the only time that the Golden Bears won a conference regular season title, when they finished with a share of the Pac-10 title.

2000s

The decade started out with a bang, as the Golden Bears set a program record for wins in 2000 with seventeen. They tied their best conference record at the time with a 7–2–0 finish, and finished second in the conference. They advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament that year, for the first time since 1988. The Golden Bears finished with twelve total wins in the next two years, and qualified for the NCAA tournament in both years, but could not advance past the Second Round. The Golden Bears only finished 7–8–4 in 2003, finishing under .500 for the second time in team history. They also broke a streak of five consecutive NCAA Tournament qualifications. The downturn did not last long as the team finished 11–6–3 in 2004, and qualified for the NCAA Tournament, but could not advance past the First Round. In 2005, the Golden Bears finished with sixteen wins, and had their best conference record in the Pac-12, finishing 7–1–1, however, they finished in Second Place. They made the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament, their best finish since 1988. 2006 was Kevin Boyd's final season, and the team finished 12–5–5 and extended their streak of NCAA qualifications to three in a row. Neil McGuire was hired in 2007 and lead the team to instant success as they finished 15–5–1 in his first season. The successive seasons in 2008 and 2009 didn't reach as great heights, but the team continued to qualify for the NCAA tournament and finished both seasons with double-digit wins.

2010s

McGuire was the coach throughout the 2010s and the team enjoyed general success during the decade. It began with their first single digit win total since 1993, when the team finished with nine wins in 2010. However, the team still finished above .500 at 9–6–5. They continued to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, but were eliminated in the

First Round First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

. Win totals improved in both 2011 and 2012 with twelve and sixteen respectively. Their sixteen wins in 2012 were the most since 2000, and tied for the second most in program history. The team qualified for the NCAA Tournament in both years, and reached the Second Round both times. The Golden Bears finished third in the Pac-12 standings both years. In 2013, the team finished 11–5–5, and 4–4–3, in Pac-12 play, halving their Pac-12 wins from the year prior. They reached the

of the NCAA Tournament in 2013. 2014-2017 were very similar years as the team finished with thirteen wins in 2015, 2016, and 2017, and had fourteen wins in 2014. They finished tied for fourth, fifth twice, and sixth in the Pac-12 over this span. The Golden Bears qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each year, and were eliminated in the First Round in all but 2014, where they reached the Second Round. 2018 was a departure from the steady norm as the team finished 5–12–2 and 1–9–1 in Pac-12 play. This was their lowest conference win total in program history, and tied for the lowest number of overall wins with 1994. They ended a streak of fourteen straight NCAA Tournament qualifications. The decade closed with a quick rebound, as the team finished 13–5–3, 5–3–3 in Pac-12 play to finish in fifth place. They qualified for the NCAA Tournament, but were eliminated in the First Round.

2020s

The decade started with a season shortened by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The team played a shortened non-conference schedule, and played ten games in Pac-12 play instead of the usual eleven. The Golden Bears finished 3–7–0 in Pac-12 play to tie a program worst finish of eleventh place. In 2021 the team finished above .500 again, finishing 8–7–3 and tied for seventh in Pac-12 play. They resumed qualification to the NCAA Tournament in 2022 when they finished 10–5–6 and 5–3–3 in Pac-12 play to finish in fourth place. They were eliminated in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. In their final season in the Pac-12 they finished 7–6–6 and 4–3–4 to finish in a tie for fifth place, they were not invited to the NCAA Tournament. In

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, the Golden Bears played their first season in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

. The team finished with more than ten wins for the first time in the decade, finishing 13–6–2. In the first ACC conference season, they finished 5–4–1, and tied for seventh place. This was one spot out of qualifying for their first conference tournament in program history. They were selected to the NCAA Tournament and qualified for the

Second Round The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

for the first time since 2014.

Bullying lawsuit

Former player Renee Thomas, and four other plaintiffs sued Neil McGuire, the UC Regents, UC Berkeley administration, and Athletic Director Jim Knowlton. McGuire is accused of sexual harassment and the other defendants are accused of creating a culture of "pervasive sexual harassment" along with failing to investigate accusations. According to court records, at least nine women have complained about McGuire since 2016. Many of these allegations came to light in 2020 in a local TV investigation published by

KTVU KTVU (channel 2) is a television station licensed to Oakland, California, United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned and operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network through its Fox Television Stations division along ...

. Lawsuits were later filed in both federal and state courts and as of 2025, cases are ongoing.

Personnel

Current roster

Team management

Source:

Seasons

† In 1995 the

began sponsoring women's soccer.
^ In 2024 California began play in the

Notable alumni

Current Professional Players

* Lesle Gallimore (1982–1985) – Currently general manager of

Seattle Reign FC Seattle Reign FC is an American professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2012, it is one of eight inaugural members of the NWSL. Since June 2024, the Reign ar ...

Betsy Hassett Betsy Doon Hassett (born 4 August 1990) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a right winger for Stjarnan and the New Zealand national team. She has previously played for German side SC Sand, Englis ...

(2009–2012) – Currently with

Stjarnan Ungmennafélagið Stjarnan (, ), commonly known as Stjarnan (), is an Icelandic multi-sports club specialising in handball, football, basketball, volleyball and gymnastics located in Garðabær. Basketball Men's basketball As of the 2017–2 ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

international * Genessee Daughetee (2010–2013) – Currently assistant coach with

Rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

* Celeste Boureille (2012–2015) – Currently with

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

Ifeoma Onumonu Ifeoma Chukwufumnaya Onumonu (; born 25 February 1994) is a professional footballer who plays for Montpellier HSC in the French Première Ligue. She previously played for Utah Royals, NJ/NY Gotham FC, Reign FC, Portland Thorns FC, and Boston B ...

(2012–2016) – Currently with

and

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

international * Annia Mejía (2014–2016) – Currently with

FC Juárez Fútbol Club Juárez, also known as Bravos de Juárez or simply Juárez, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, that currently competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football ...

* Guro Bergsvand (2014–2017) – Currently with

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

international * Miranda Nild (2015–2018) – Currently with

Oakland Soul SC Oakland Soul Sports Club is an American professional soccer team based in Oakland, California. The club was formed in 2024 as the women's team of Oakland Roots SC, and began play in the USL W League in the summer of 2023. History On May 24, 202 ...

* Mia Corbin (2016–2019) – Currently with Carolina Ascent FC * Abi Kim (2016–2019) – Currently with AB Fomget * Sydney Collins (2018–2022) – Currently with

North Carolina Courage The North Carolina Courage are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It was founded on January 9, 2017, after Stephen Malik acqui ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

international * Paige Metayer (2018–2022) – Currently with

Angelina Anderson Angelina Dora Anderson (born March 22, 2001) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Early life Anderson was raised in Danville, California, where she a ...

(2019–2022) – Currently with

Washington Spirit The Washington Spirit are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the USL W-League (1995� ...

* Ayo Oke (2021–2022) – Currently with

CF Pachuca Club de Fútbol Pachuca is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Pachuca, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, that competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football league system, Mexican football. Founded in 1892 as ...

* Karlie Lema (2021–2024) – Currently with

Bay FC Bay Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in the San Francisco Bay Area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The team began play in the NWSL as an expansion team in the 2024 Nat ...

References

External links

* {{Atlantic Coast Conference women's soccer navbox Soccer clubs in California NCAA Division I women's soccer teams Association football clubs established in 1982 1982 establishments in California