WOMEN’S NEWS … Three days after Coach Neil McGuire left the No. 19 Cal women’s program, concerns about who was in charge were put to rest, at least for now, when he returned to work and apologized for leaving the team and missing Sunday’s 1-1 tie with nationally ranked Santa Clara.
McGuire’s absence resulted in Kelly Lindsay, an assistant volunteer coach who had been with the Bears for only two weeks, running the show against Santa Clara. Yes, that’s the same Kelly Lindsey who took over as the interim coach of WPS champion Sky Blue FC following the departure of Ian Sawyers only to suddenly quit herself shortly before the playoffs.
According to the Daily Cal, McGuire told his Bears players Friday he was “done” after their 1-0 loss to Sacramento State — their second defeat to an unranked team in a week. Two days later, they tied ranked Santa Clara — a remarkable feat considering Cal was depleted by injuries.
“I am deeply saddened I placed my team, program and administration in this unfortunate position,” he said Monday. “I had some profoundly difficult personal issues to deal with throughout last week, and I put myself ahead of our team, which goes against our ideal of program, team, individual.”
McGuire arrived at Berkeley from Texas Tech in 2007, accepting a four-year contract worth more than $250,000 a year in salary and potential bonuses and camp income. The Scotsman attended Augusta State in Georgia and later spent time coaching at Iowa State, Arizona State, Mississippi State and Texas.
“Neil McGuire is the right coach for our program,” Cal Athletic Director Sandy Barbour said in a statement. “I felt that more than two years ago when I hired him and I feel that today.”
* WEDNESDAY’S ACTION:
Non-Conference
Long Beach State 0 San Diego 0
Illinois State 5 SIU-Edwardsville 1
(Jessica Carlson ties Illinois State record for most goals in a game with three.)