Cal vs. UC Davis

Friday, Oct. 20 | 6 PM PT | Underhill Field | Berkeley, Calif.
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Cal at No. 17 Stanford

Sunday, Oct. 22 | 3 PM PT | Varsity Turf | Stanford, Calif.
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California field hockey closes out the regular season this weekend with a shot at clinching the America East divisional title when the Golden Bears take on UC Davis and No. 17 Stanford. Cal opens the weekend by hosting the Aggies on Senior Day, Friday at 6 p.m. on Underhill Field. The regular-season finale against Stanford begins from the Farm on Sunday at 3 p.m.

If Cal wins out this weekend, the Bears will clinch the conference's West Division crown and a No. 1 seed in the forthcoming conference tournament starting Nov. 2. A 1-1 weekend still gives the Bears an opportunity at a share of the regular-season divisional crown, dependent on the final conference games next weekend.

Both games will be available via either live stream or live broadcast. Friday's match against the Aggies will be streamed live, while Sunday's match with Stanford airs live on the Pac-12 Network, with a stream online also available. Links to watch, as well as live stats for both games, can be accessed via the field hockey schedule page on CalBears.com. Follow @CalFieldHockey on Instagram and Twitter, plus Facebook.com/CalFH for a behind-the-scenes look at gameday and more.

HEAD COACH SHELLIE ONSTEAD'S TAKE

"We are only concerned with the UC Davis game for now. We have had a plan to make sure our destiny is in our own hands at this point in the regular season, and that will be the case on Sunday if we don't get too far ahead of ourselves."

NEED TO KNOW

• Cal is 3-1 in conference action and atop the America East West Division standings.
• Should Cal win out this weekend, the Bears' 5-1 conference record would be their best since 2010. That year, Cal went 5-1 and tied for first with a 10-9 overall record.
• Shellie Onstead has steered her teams to 12 first-place finishes in conference action.
• The Bears have defeated three Top 25 opponents this season -- No. 22 UMass (2-1), No. 24 Pacific (4-1) and No. 14 Stanford (4-2).
• Cal's win over Stanford last week was its first over a Top 15 opponent since September 2015.
• Cal ranks in the Top 20 as team in two categories -- assists per game (20th, 2.29) and points per game (20th, 7.71).
• Megan Rodgers leads the America East in goals per game (1.07) and points per game (2.36).

SCOUTING THE AGGIES

• Last Meeting: W, 3-2, on Sept. 29
• Series: Cal leads, 21-5-1
• Streak: Cal is 3-2 in its last five games against the Aggies.
• Four Aggies share the team lead in goals scored with two apiece -- Nica Taglieri, Kim van der Meulen, Kate Young and Lauren Gengarella.
• Taglieri owns a team-best 7 points with her 2 goals and 3 assists.
• Madison Cohen leads the Aggies in assists with 4.
• Chelsea Bigelow has 987 minutes in goal, allowing 51 goals for a 3.62 average. Bigelow is eighth in the nation and leads the America East in saves per game with 7.79.

SCOUTING THE CARDINAL

• Last Meeting: W, 4-2, on Oct. 15
• Series: Series is tied, 53-53-5
• Streak: Cal snapped a four-game losing streak to Stanford with last Sunday's 4-2 win in Berkeley.
• Corinne Zanolli leads the Cardinal with 25 points on a team-high nine goals and seven assists.
• Zanolli and Frances Carstens each scored in the last meeting between Cal and Stanford.
• Marissa Cicione has 16 points on seven goals and two assists.
• Kristina Bassi (13 points -- 5 goals, 3 assists) and Sarah Johnson (13 points -- 3 goals, 7 assists) are also in double-figure points.
• Kelsey Bing has all 14 starts in goal for Stanford, allowing 23 goals in 977 minutes for a 1.65 goals against average.  Bing leads the conference in save percentage at 0.798.

BEARS TABBED THIRD IN AE WEST

For the second consecutive season, the coaches of the America East have predicted a third-place finish for the Golden Bears (5 points) in the America East, just one point behind second-place Pacific (6 points). Stanford received three first-place votes to be named the favorite in the West, while UC Davis was tabbed last. In the East Division, Maine was predicted as the league's champion. 

The Bears currently lead the West Division with a 3-1 record heading into the final two weekends of play. Cal closes out its regular-season conference action this weekend, and will await the results of next week's games to learn final divisional standings as well as seeding for the America East Championships in Lowell, Mass.

ON THE RECORD(S)

Several Golden Bears are climbing their way into the Cal record books, after leading the way in a strong 2017 campaign. 
• Freshman Megan Rodgers broke into Cal's Top 10 for single-season goals against Pacific, netting her 14th of the season. She added a 15th against Stanford to tie for eighth, a spot she shares with Megan Sainsbury (1999) and Nora Feddersen (2003).
• With 33 points this season, Rodgers needs just one more point to tie Feddersen at 10th with 34 points.
• Femke Delissen and Lindsay Mathison are nearing the Top 10 single-season mark for assists. Delissen has 8 assists and Mathison has 6 and would join the top 10 by reaching 11 assists.
• Melina Moore's 22 career goals put her within four goals of joining Melissa Nerone (179-82) and Shellie Onstead (1980-82) at 10th all-time with 26 career goals. 

CAL COUNTING UP WEEKLY HONORS

California's accolades continue to grow with the Golden Bears claiming six America East weekly honors to date this season.

Megan Rodgers is the most recent Bear to earn conference laurels, taking home her third Rookie of the Week award this season by tallying five points in Cal's most recent weekend of games. The frosh scored once in Cal's loss at Pacific, then added a goal and a point in a 4-2 Golden Bear victory over then-No. 14 Stanford. 

Rodgers also won Rookie of the Week on Oct. 3 after a brace in Cal's win at UC Davis on Sept. 29.

Melina Moore was voted Player of the Week in week 4 with three points on a goal and an assist in the Bears' conference-opening, 4-1 win against Pacific. The week prior, Cal swept the America East weekly awards with a perfect 2-0 weekend on the road. Rodgers scored five goals in two games to earn both Player and Rookie of the Week honors and Danielle Mentink earned the Defensive Player of the Week nod after allowing only one goal in 19 shots faced for a league-best 0.50 goals against average. 

NEXT UP

California will enjoy a week-long break to end the regular season before heading to Lowell, Mass. for the America East Championships from Nov. 2-5. First-round action begins on Thursday, Nov. 2.

Seeding for the championships will be announced following the final week of regular-season action, which takes place through Oct. 29.