BOONE, N.C. – California field hockey notched its second-straight road win, defeating Appalachian State 2-1 on Friday evening at Appalachian Field Hockey Stadium. The Golden Bears improve to 2-5 with the victory.
Friday's game saw three different Bears notch firsts, as sophomore
Keats Iwanaga and freshman
Lindsay Mathison tallied their first collegiate assists, and senior
Sydney Earle recorded her first goal of the season. Sophomore
Janaye Sakkas also scored for Cal.
It didn't take the Bears long to adjust to their new setting. In less than five minutes, Sakkas put Cal on the board, scoring at 4:33 with a pass from Mathison, which Sakkas hit from the air into the goal.
The Mountaineers evened it up less than two minutes later with a goal by Jordan Van Cleave, and the score remained 1-1 through the first half. Cal outshot Appalachian State 6-2 and drew a 5-0 penalty corner advantage.
After halftime, Cal proved once again the Bears were ready to score, notching a second goal in less than five minutes since the start of the second half. Iwanaga split two Mountaineer defenders and struck from the outside, sending the ball to Earle, who swept it in for the 2-1 lead.
The Bears held the advantage again in the second half, outshooting the Mountaineers 11-5 with a 5-4 edge in corners. Goalkeeper
Kori Griswold saved all four shots that headed her way, handing Cal its second victory of the season.
The total-team effort saw the Bears outshoot Appalachian State 17-7 for the game along with a season-high 10 penalty corners.
GOLDEN BEAR GOALS
4:33 – Janaye Sakkas (assisted by Lindsay Mathison)
Sakkas says: Lindsay sent the ball into the circle and I tipped it over the goalie.
39:11 – Sydney Earle (assisted by Keats Iwanaga)
Earle says: Keats split the two defenders that I was standing in between and swept it towards goal and it went in!
APPALACHIAN STATE'S GOAL
6:28 – Jordan Van Cleave (assisted by Taylor Cimbalist)
NEXT UP
Cal wraps up nonconference road action at Wake Forest beginning Sunday at 9 a.m. PT.
