Finally Healthy, Cal's Karlie Lema Leads the Nation in Scoring

Lema has helped the Golden Bears women's soccer team to a national ranking, and they face a big test next week in Berkeley

Karlie Lema / Photo by Peter Fukumae via Cal Athletics

Cal senior Karlie Lema is finally healthy, and she is showing what she can do when she is physically sound by leading the country in scoring for the Bears’ nationally ranked women’s soccer team.

A big test comes next week when Cal, which is 10-1-2 and ranked 18th in this week’s United Coaches poll, hosts No. 3 North Carolina on Thursday, October 10, and No. 2 Duke on Sunday, October 13. Both games will be at Cal’s Edwards Stadium.

Lema is apt to see two or three defenders chasing her in those games, because that’s what Cal opponents have started to do recently.

Lema has scored 13 goals, which is tied with Minnesota’s Khyah Harper for the most in the country and are two more than anyone else in the Division I women’s soccer.  Add in Lema’s five assists and she has 31 points, which puts her alone in first place nationally in that category.

However, it has been a long road to get to the point where Lema can use her speed to her best advantage. A hip problem was an issue for years.

During her career at Oak Hill High School in Morgan Hill, Calif., the hip problem arose.  She sat out 18 months hoping that rest would solve the issue, and she was able to play her freshman season at Cal, scoring six goals.

However, the hip problem remained, so she had surgery, repairing a detached labrum and shaving some bone in the hip area.  That kept her out for several more months before she played her sophomore season, when she scored five more goals. 

Lema completed her sophomore season but again had to sit out the spring sessions to rest her hip.  Lema played her junior year at Cal and recorded four goals and four assists, but more importantly there were no more hip issues, allowing her to go through the spring training session and be fully healthy for the Bears first season in the ACC.

“This is like my first full season,” Lema said, “so I think having the spring season really made a difference.

“This is the first season I really felt healthy and good to go.”

Lema plays the same striker position that former Cal star Alex Morgan played for years for the U.S. Women’s National Team, and that is not lost on Lema.

“I watched her when I was little,” Lema said. “So cool watching her and she just retired.”

Lema doesn’t pay much attention to Cal records, and she’s a long way from the Cal single-season record of 23 goals shared by Laura Schott in 2000 and Joy Biefeld in 1987.  (You may know Biefeld better by her married name of Joy Fawcett, who was a long-time member of the U.S. Women’s National Team.)

“I saw last time when I scored I think I’m getting close to Alex, so that’s pretty cool,” Lema said.

Lema is just one goal shy of tying Morgan’s most productive seasons at Cal, when she scored 14 goals in 2009 and 14 more in 2010.  Morgan undoubtedly would have had more goals in 2010, but she played in only 12 games for the Bears that year before being called up to the U.S. National Team.

The one remarkable thing about Lema’s goals is her goal celebration, or rather her lack of celebration.  After a goal she walks or trots back, exchanges a few high fives and that’s it.

“I never really thought to celebrate,” she said.

She has not scored in the past three games as opponents have begun giving her extra defensive attention.  She figures that’s a good thing as it opens opportunities for teammates. And Cal keeps winning.

The Bears are on an 11-game unbeaten streak since their August 18 loss to Santa Clara.

Lema believes the closeness of the team is a significant factor for the Bears’ success. And the talent is there.  Lema is part of the Bears’ 2020 class that was rated one of the best recruiting classes in the country that year.

And this season that talent is maturing into a group that can win close games.  The way the team has responded in difficult situations has been the difference this year, according to Lema.

“We’ve been down in a lot of games, but somehow we’ve all found a way to come out with a win at the end of the day,” she said. “I think that’s something big that we haven’t been able to do in the last few seasons. I think that’s really been a game-changer.”

Cal rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie Wake Forest on the road on September 22, then defeated Pittsburgh and Miami at home last week, heading into the difficult stretch of games.

Neil McGuire has had some good teams in his 17 years as Cal’s head coach, reaching the NCAA tournament 13 times and getting to the second round in that event five times.

Winning the ACC title in what is considered the best women’s soccer conference in the country is a major challenge. But the Bears are currently tied for second place with a 3-0-1 ACC mark, good for 10 points.

Whether Cal is a title contender may be determined next week when the Bears face powerhouses North Carolina and Duke in Berkeley

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