BERKELEY -- California field hockey held No. 17 Stanford through double overtime, but the Cardinal walked away the victor after the first-ever penalty shootout on the new Underhill Field Friday evening. Cal fell, 3-2, for a 3-7 overall record and 1-1 America East record this season.
 
"I think this game was really indicative of how far everyone is willing to go and push it to the end. We went through two 15-minute, double overtime periods. That's crazy," said sophomore captain Janaye Sakkas. "The fact that everyone's willing to make that run back – even to the last minute – just shows how willing we are to work for each other. Despite the outcome, we're not ashamed of this game and I think we played really well."
 
Cal led 2-0 early in the game before Stanford cut the deficit by half in the final play of the first half. The game went to overtime tied 2-2, and after a pair of 15-minute periods, the stroke-off ensued.
 
The Bears missed the first attempt against Stanford keeper Kelsey Bing, while the Cardinal successfully converted their first shot.
 
Senior captain Monica Marrazzo nearly got the Bears back on track until her goal was called back after touching a foot. Though Stanford missed its next two attempts, Cal failed to place the ball in the cage in its fourth try. Fran Tew sealed it for Stanford.
 
"Overtime is a battle of moving when you don't have the ball, and fighting through the periods of when you're exhausted," said head coach Shellie Onstead. "There's a real art to the subbing and keeping people fresh. Overtime can often have a dominant team, yet one breakaway settles the game. Today, we saw two teams that really battled it out in a pretty good go."
 
The Cardinal outshot Cal 24-5 on the night, and led 10-3 in corners.
 
Goalkeeper Kori Griswold was spectacular in overtime, stopping three goals between both overtime periods and staving off two in the shootout period. She finished the evening with six total saves, playing in all 100 minutes.
 
Seeking their first regular-season home win over the Cardinal since Sept. 2009, the Bears got off to a strong start after drawing a penalty corner just under 20 minutes into the first half. Sophomore Melina Moore inserted the goal toward senior Lexi Collins, who sent it back to Moore for the tip-in and the 1-0 lead.
 
Leading scorer and sophomore captain Janaye Sakkas notched her sixth goal on the year with another goal off a penalty corner. Junior Mara Gutierrez got ahold of the ball and sent it forward, but it was deflected. Sakkas grabbed the rebound off the defender and finished it in.
 
Stanford earned a corner in the final seconds of the first period and successfully scored via Nina Randolph. It was the first of two unanswered goals by the Cardinal, as Sarah Helgeson tied it up at 58:58.
 
Despite Stanford's shot output, the game was evenly contested, even through overtime. Playing man-down for nearly five minutes off the second overtime period, Cal held tough to send the game into the shootout.
 
The Bears will get at least one more shot at Stanford later this month, on Sunday, Oct. 23 in the return trip of the season's two-game series.
 
HEAD COACH SHELLIE ONSTEAD'S TAKE
 
On what team learned from overtime:
It showed us that we're pretty tough. I was really proud of our resolve. It can be so painful, those long periods under pressure. During the overtimes, I thought we looked pretty darn good.
 
On overtime strategy:
Overtime is a battle of moving when you don't have the ball, and fighting through the periods of when you're exhausted. There's a real art to the subbing and keeping people fresh. Overtime can often have a dominant team, yet one breakaway settles the game. Today, we saw two teams that really battled it out in a pretty good go.
 
GOLDEN BEAR GOALS
19:24 – Melina Moore (assisted by Lexi Collins)
 
27:53 – Janaye Sakkas (unassisted)
 
STANFORDS'S GOALS
35:00 – Nina Randolph (assisted by Kristina Bassic)
58:58 – Sarah Helgeson (unassisted)
100:00 – Fran Tew (Stroke-off)
 
NEXT UP
Cal returns to the field on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 8 a.m. PT when the Golden Bears face conference East Division opponent Vermont.