California Golden Bears Athletics
California
Pacific
17th-Ranked Field Hockey Advances to NorPac Championship Game With 3-0 Shutout
11/2/2001 12:00 PM | Field Hockey
Nov. 2, 2001
BOONE, N.C. - No. 1 seed California defeated No. 3 Pacific (5-10), 3-0, to advance to the championship game of the NorPac Postseason Tournament Friday afternoon at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
This marks the third consecutive year that the Golden Bears (12-4) have advanced to the championship game. Stanford awaits Cal after defeating Southwest Missouri State, 1-0, in the other semifinal game.
Elizabeth Harkins tallied her ninth goal of the season at 17:42 when she took a pass from senior Sara Hunt and one-timed the pass to the far side of the cage to put the Bears up, 1-0.
In the second half, Cal scored right away as Erin Robinson scored on a direct shot off a penalty corner with assists from Harkins and junior Danya Sawyer at 32:16.
Nora Feddersen capped off the scoring with her second goal in as many days with 10:27 left in the contest.
The Bears came back from yesterday's near loss to an outmatched Davidson squad to dispatch another underdog opponent in Pacific.
"I think to be able to bounce back like we did today, as a team was awesome," said team captain Erin Robinson. "The basic skills were all there, and although we still have a little bit more to step up, we just came back and bounced back as a team."
Although the Tigers were shutout of the scoring column, they didn't lack scoring opportunities as Pacific was awarded five corners in the latter part of the second period.
"You could tell that (Pacific)) really wanted it, and we just got stuck," said Robinson. "We have a tendency to do that, but what helped us out was that last goal we got in the last minute and a half and I think we needed that to be able to make this next step tomorrow."
Cal will play its cross-bay rival for the third time this year, and face a familiar situation as they took on Stanford in pasts seasons in the title game of the conference tournament. Two years ago, the Bears defeated the Cardinal in the championship game to advance to the play-in game while in 2000, Stanford won, 2-0.
Contests against the Cards have been tight this year, with each team winning, 1-0, at their respective home fields.
"We're just one of those teams that takes a few minutes to get into our groove and lately other teams haven't been letting us do that so hopefully, tomorrow, we can correct it," said Sara Hunt, who had an assist against the Tigers.
The title game takes place at 12:30 p.m. (EST) at Kidd Brewer Stadium with the winner hosting the play-in game versus Quinnipiac of the Northeastern Conference.
"I think it's an improvement from yesterday," said head coach Shellie Onstead. "I still think we're playing at about 40 percent of our potential and even if we just played at 60 percent of our potential, I think we'd be looking pretty good. Between tonight and tomorrow, we're gong to have to talk about that."
Field Hockey Result at Kidd Brewer Stadium
Boone, N.C.
1 2 Tot
Pacific 0 0 0
California 1 2 3
Goals:
First Half:
CAL - Elizabeth Harkins, 17:42 (Hunt)
Second Half:
CAL - Erin Robinson, 37:44 (Harkins, Sawyer)
CAL - Nora Feddersen, 69:33 (unassisted)
Shots: Pacific - 3, California - 12
Saves: Pacific (Lisa Beach) 5, Cal (Emily Rowlen) - 2
Penalty Corners: Pacific 6, California 7
Record: - Pacific 5-10, California - 12-4
