Monday evening, the Cal women’s soccer team (10-8-1, 4-5-0 in the Pac-10) was given an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

After being eliminated by Florida in the first round of the 2008 tourney, the Bears will head back to Florida in ‘09, only this time to Tallahassee rather than Gainesville. Cal also has a much better draw, facing Auburn which comes in at 10-8-3.

The game is set for Friday, Nov. 13th, with the time still to be announced. The Bears plan to fly on Wednesday.

If Cal wins on Friday, it will most likely see host Florida State (16-4-1) on Sunday.

It’s time to celebrate!

That’s right, “Points and Shoot” — the Daily Cal sports photo of the week — has reached its 10th installment.

For this landmark occasion, Daily Cal photographer Alexander Ritchie offered up a snapshot of Arizona State forward Courtney Tinnin battling Cal (and gravity) for possession of the ball.

Tinnin scored the first goal of the game on Sunday at Edwards Stadium, but the Bears emerged with a 3-2 overtime victory against the Sun Devils on a header by Lisa Kevorkian.

Kevorkian, who was named Pac-10 Player of the Week, capped a successful weekend for Cal, which defeated Arizona at home on Friday, 2-0.

Can the Bears close their up-and-down season with three straight victories? Sunday’s match against Stanford will answer that. To keep up with the Cal women’s soccer team, click here for beat writer Joseph Cannon’s coverage.

If you want to see all 10 “Points and Shoot” photos, you’ll like this link. Still not satisfied? Try the “This Week in Cal Sports” slideshow.

A few weeks ago at practice, I asked the No. 14 Cal Women’s soccer team one of my favorite road trip questions: If you could have five professionals follow you around wherever you went, what would they be?

Coach Neil McGuire

1) A clothing designer- “So that my players will stop making fun of me for every item of clothing that I wear.”

2) A nutritionist- “To keep me in check.”

3) A person trainer- “To make sure that I continue to work out.”

4) A chauffeur- “So I don’t have to drive from Danville to Berkeley everyday in all that traffic.”

5) “I would give the fifth one to my wife and she would probably use it for a spa treatment or a hair stylist.”

Alex Morgan

1) An umbrella holder/ water boy (Click here to read more…)

Today, the No. 16 Cal women’s soccer team was full of some pretty awful jokes. When she heard I was asking about jokes, Megan Jesolva literally ran out of the locker room to tell these jokes. The amazing part is Jesolva told these jokes, including the one from Zulma Munoz, in one minute and eight seconds.

Q: What do you call a nosy pepper?
A: Jal-ap-eno business ” – Megan Jesolva (Funny because it’s meant to be said, “All up in yo’ business.” Alright, it’s not funny.)

Q: Edited by media relations assistant Anna Oleson-Wheeler because joke was inappropriately involving bees and private parts –Megan Jesolva

Q: What did the girl gorilla tell her boyfriend when she found out she was cheating on him?
A: Ooh-anh-anh –Zulma Munoz (told including gorilla mannerisms)

Q: Why do elephants paint their toenails red?
A. To hide in cherry trees. Have you ever seen an elephant in a cherry tree? Then it must be working. – Megan Jesolva.

Q: What do you call a proton with long hair?
A: Fro-ton–Megan Jesolva

Q: What’s the hardest part about skydiving?
A: The ground– Megan Jesolva

Q: What’s red and smells like blue paint?
A: Red paint –Megan Jesolva

Q: What do you call a deer with no eyes?
A: No eyed-deer – Rosie Aguilera

Q: Edited by Anna Oleson-Wheeler for appropriateness of subject matter related to last joke.

The Bears will stick to their day jobs this Friday when they take on Portland State at home at 1:30 pm.

We’re back with the second round of “Points and Shoot,” our weekly series highlighting an awesome photo from the world of Cal athletics.

In this week’s photo, which was taken by Daily Cal staff photographer Anna Hiatt, Bears sophomore Danielle Brunache (22) creates a pleasing symmetry as she jumps between a teammate and a Texas player in an attempt to gain possession for  the Cal women’s soccer team.

Brunache and the Bears, who defeated the Longhorns as well as Texas A&M this weekend, improved their record to 3-1 this season.

Their next game is Friday against Portland State in Berkeley as part of the St. Mary’s Tournament.

If you’re a Cal student, welcome back! The joys (and pains) of school are again upon us, but the good news is that it also signals the beginning of fall sports. Yay!

There are lots of sports starting up again this week, and a few play in Berkeley in the next few days. For freshmen, it’s the perfect way to get introduced to Cal and school spirit, and for everyone else, it’s a nice warm-up to the Big Show — the first Game Day of the season against Maryland.

So until you can cast your gaze upon the football team on Sept. 5, keep your eyes on these other (equally enthralling) sports to whet your appetite:

Friday, Aug. 28

Field Hockey v. Towson at 4 p.m. at Maxwell Family Field

Volleyball v. UC Irvine at 4:30 p.m. in Reno, Nev. (three-day tournament)

Sunday, Aug. 30

Men’s Golf at the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Riverside, Iowa (three-day tournament)

Thursday, Sept. 3

Volleyball v. Texas at 8 p.m. in Honolulu, Hawaii

Friday, Sept. 4

Men’s Soccer v. Georgetown at 1 p.m. in Georgetown, Maryland

Women’s Soccer v. Texas A&M at 4:30 p.m. at Edwards Stadium

One of the reasons why I think the Cal women’s soccer team hasn’t been able to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament is the talent level of the team.

That should change now that the Bears have inked two international players, Icelander Katrin Omarsdottir and Australian Clare Polkinghorne. (Click here to read more…)