LOWELL, Mass. –The California field hockey team made its final America East contest a memorable one, scoring two late goals – including the game winner by Holly Pears in overtime – to rally past UAlbany 3-2 and clinch the 2023 America East Tournament title.
 
After going nearly two and a half quarters without a shot and trailing 2-1 late in the fourth period, Bente Baekers breathed new life into the No. 4-seeded Golden Bears' offense by smashing her 17th goal of the season to knot the score with a little more than five minutes remaining in regulation. Tina Jolly then notched her eighth and final save of the game with 15 seconds left to force overtime.
 
It was Pears, a freshman, who scored the program's biggest goal in recent memory five minutes into overtime. Taking a pass from Sydney Decher at the top of the circle and blasting a backhanded shot past No. 2-seeded UAlbany's keeper Lara Behn (10-3) for the golden goal.
 
The win marked Cal's first America East Tournament title and sealed its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2006.
 
"The second half was how I expected the whole game to be," Donna Fong Director of Field Hockey Shellie Onstead said. "UAlbany is a talented team and I thought we matched up well, player-to-player, with them. It was a back-and-forth game with a lot of good hockey. Our core defense was unbelievable; Manny (Martinez) has been in charge of that and he's been doing a lot of work and it paid off. They've really gotten a lot better over the course of the year."
 
Cal (12-7) finished the day with eight shots and six on goal, but only three after the opening quarter in which it tallied five total shots. UAlbany (13-6) countered with 16 shots and 10 on goal, including five (three on goal) by America East Midfielder of the Year Alison Smisdom.
 
The Bears had the momentum early, getting three penalty corners in the first eight minutes. Cal took advantage, scoring on its second penalty corner at the nine-minute mark when Maria Cambra Soler redirected a shot by Daniella Rhodes for the contest's opening goal. The assist by Rhodes extended her streak to eight games. Though Rhodes missed most of the second half with an injury, she was still named the America East Tournament MVP after scoring four goals and an assist in three contests.
 
"We had a good start," Onstead said. "I felt like in our other two games we were shaky in the first quarter, so it was nice to see us play our game. In the second quarter, UAlbany brought more pressure in the press, and then Daniella (Rhodes) went down…everybody sort of got shook by that. At halftime we talked more about it; we were kind of acting like we were down. Fortunately, that didn't last long and we were able to regroup."
 
In the first six minutes of the second quarter, UAlbany took momentum. The Great Danes dominated possession early and did not allow the ball to leave the Bears' defensive half of the field. Cal's defense stood tall for most of the onslaught before Smisdom got the Danes on the board seconds before the end of the half on UAlbany's third penalty corner of the period.
 
Jolly (12-7) was stellar throughout, recording two saves late in the second quarter before conceding the equalizer. She totaled 20 saves against the Great Danes this season – including a career-best 12 in a previous meeting this year – and ended the America East Tournament with 13 saves and a save percentage of .765.
 
After a scoreless third quarter and the score still knotted 1-1, UAlbany pulled out front on a goal by Floor de Ruiter, her sixth of the year. The go-ahead score was a result of continued pressure from the Great Danes' offense, and came off a direct corner.
 
"We just weren't moving enough off the ball," Onstead said of Cal's quiet second and third periods. "We were too stationary, so it was easy to get picked off and get tackled. We just had to remind them that our game is to play fluid hockey. In the fourth quarter, Merel (Hanssen) really sparked us. She's such a runner and it winds up Kiki (de Bruijne) because they are right next to each other and that really helps us get things going."
 
Midway through the fourth quarter, the Bears regained their composure. Kitty Baccanello fired a shot that went wide at the 50th-minute mark reigniting, the Cal attack. Following a penalty by the Great Danes, Kiki de Bruijne alertly put the ball back in play immediately, leading to two quick passes, the last of which came by Sophie Everett and found Baekers all alone who blasted a shot to the back of the cage to tie the match, 2-2.
 
The Bears went into overtime for the fifth time this season and the second consecutive game in a row. After dispatching UMass-Lowell in overtime on Friday, Cal completed its revenge tour when Pears scored the game-winner in the 65th minute. Cal's three tournament wins came against the three teams that defeated the Bears in conference play earlier this year.
 
Cal will find out its NCAA Tournament opponent and the location of the contest at 7 p.m. PT Sunday during the Selection Show, which will be streamed on NCAA.com.

"It feels amazing, it's what every coach strives for every year," Onstead said. "We knew the way into the NCAA Tournament was through the (America East) tournament. This was the door – I told them that – so we will see tonight what's going to happen." 
 
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