Sept. 16, 2011

Final Stats

EVANSTON, Ill. -

The No. 11 California Golden Bear field hockey team suffered its first loss of the season, falling to the Northwestern Wildcats in Chicago, 3-1.

The Bears trailed 2-0 at halftime after a field goal and a goal off a corner by Northwestern's Chelsea Armstrong. The Wildcats added their third goal 13 minutes into the second half, putting Cal in a 3-0 hole.

"We took about 25 minutes to get into the flow," said head coach Shellie Onstead. "We played some cold hockey. At the end of both halves, we really heated up, but the goals weren't falling for us. That's just how it was for us today."

Junior forward Rachelle Comeau broke up the shutout in the 65th minute, taking a pass from sophomore forward Andrea Earle at the top of the circle and slapping it in for the score. Cal had back-to-back penalty corners with just over five minutes to play, but couldn't convert the opportunities into goals, falling to Northwestern by a final score of 3-1.

Comeau's goal was her third of the season. Earle's assist adds to her team-leading point total (18). She has six goals and four assists this season.

"Erin Magill played some great defense for us today," Onstead said. "Overall, except for a couple of lapses, all of the defense played well. We also managed to apply some good pressure on offense, we just didn't get anything out of it."

The loss is the first of the season for the No. 11-ranked Bears. They had opened the year on a 5-0 run. Senior goalkeeper Maddie Hand also earned her first loss of the season, falling to 5-1. She had three saves in the game, playing the full 70 minutes in goal.

"We are looking forward to bouncing back tomorrow," Onstead said.

The Bears will be back in action on the same field tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 17, facing No. 18 Virginia in a neutral site contest. The action begins at 11 a.m. Pacific Time (1 p.m. local time).