SUNDAY, SEPT. 1
MICHIGAN STATE (0-0) AT CAL (0-0) | 1 P.M. PT | UNDERHILL FIELD | BERKELEY, CALIF.
LIVE STREAM: ACCNX | LIVE STATS: CALBEARS.COM


 
BERKELEY - The California field hockey team opens the 2024 season Sunday by hosting Michigan State at Underhill Field. The Golden Bears are coming off a memorable 2023 season in which they won the America East Tournament championship and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006. It was the program's first America East Tournament title, and in its last attempt as the Bears move to the Atlantic Coast Conference this season.
 
2023 RECAP
The Bears made sure their final year in the America East Conference was a memorable one, winning the AE Tournament title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 17 years. Cal gave an indication of what type of season it might be early on when it knocked off No. 5 Penn State in the fourth game of the year.
 
The Bears finished in fourth place in the America East standings and then had a thrilling run to the AE Tournament title, winning all three of their games by one goal - including the final two in overtime. They knocked off top-seeded UMass-Lowell in the semifinals before ousting No. 2 Albany for the championship.
 
After the season, graduate student Daniella Rhodes was named to the NFHCA All-West Region First Team while fellow grad transfer Bente Baekers and senior Kiki de Bruijne garnered second-team accolades. It marked just the third time in program history the Bears have had three different players earn all-region honors in the same season.
 
WELCOME TO THE ACC
The University of California, Berkeley, announced last Sept. 1 that its athletic department was joining the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. With that, the Bears join arguably the top field hockey conference in the country. North Carolina has won five of the past six NCAA championships, and seven ACC teams are ranked in the NFHCA preseason poll. Cal plays its first ACC game ever when it visits No. 3 Virginia on Sept. 20.
 
GETTING OFFENSIVE
The Bears had one of the most prolific offenses in the country last season, led by graduate students Daniella Rhodes and Bente Baekers. Rhodes ranked sixth nationally at 1.06 goals per game and 2.39 points per game. Baekers tied for 12th in the country in goals per game (0.85) while ranking 14th in points per game (1.90). As a team, Cal finished the season ranked sixth nationally at 3.10 goals per game while coming in at No. 7 in points per contest (8.55). The Golden Bears also outscored their opponents 62-36 for the season, the 15th-best scoring margin in the nation.
 
THE NEWCOMERS
The Bears welcome 10 new players to this year's roster, including two international graduate transfers who will be making their NCAA debuts. Noemie Mekki (Paris) and Canisha van Duyn (Emmen, Netherlands) will be making their first collegiate appearances after accomplished club and international careers. Mekki was the captain of France's U21 national team last summer.  Another graduate transfer from The Netherlands - Carmel van Dijk - spent her undergraduate career at Fairfield and was an All-NEC Second-Team selection last season.
 
RETURNING EXPERIENCE
Despite the loss of several key players from last year's America East championship team, the Bears still have a hefty dose of experience with seniors Sophie Everett and Sydney Dechar, junior goalkeeper Tina Jolly and sophomores Holly Pears and Anjana Pioch. Pears is Cal's returning leading point-scorer with five goals and two assists last season while Pioch had the most starts of any returning field player with 16 last year. Jolly started every game in goal for the Bears last year while Everett and Dechar combined for 21 starts.
 
30 FOR ONSTEAD
Shellie Onstead enters her 30th season as the Donna Fong Director of Field Hockey. Onstead has a career record of 323-232 and has guided the Bears to 12 conference championships. She is a six-time NorPac Coach of the Year and has led Cal to six NCAA Tournament appearances. Onstead served as an assistant coach for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team and was inducted into the Cal Athletics Hall of Fame in 1982. Onstead played at Cal from 1980-82 and was the program's first All-America player.
 
ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE
The Spartans have 15 returners after going 4-12 last season, including two of their top four scorers in Ellie Rutherford (9 points) and Emma O'Neill (7 points). Rutherford, fellow senior Maddie Lawlor and freshman Carmen Pucheta were each named to the Big Ten's preseason "Players To Watch" list. Rutherford was an All-Big Ten Second-Team selection last season.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Sunday will mark the 10th all-time meeting between Cal and Michigan State, with the series tied at 4-4-1. The last time the Bears and Spartans faced off was in 2017, when Cal dropped a 5-4 decision to MSU in double overtime at Underhill Field. The Bears' last victory over the Spartans came in 2013, a 2-1 home triumph, also in double overtime. Six of the nine matchups between Cal and Michigan State have gone into overtime. The first meeting ever between the Bears and Spartans resulted in a 1-1 tie in Berkeley in 1994.
 
LAST TIME VS. MICHIGAN STATE
Cal came back from a pair of two-goal deficits, eventually forcing overtime before falling on a penalty shot in a 5-4 loss at Underhill Field on Aug. 28, 2017. The game featured the first career goal of then-freshman Megan Rodgers, who went on to become a two-time NFHCA All-West Region First-Team pick and recently represented Team USA at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
 
UP NEXT
The Bears will remain at home next week to continue their four-game homestand to begin the season by hosting Northeastern on Sept. 5 and Kent State on Sept. 6. Both games commence at 4 p.m. and will air on ACC Network Extra. Cal will then have nine days off before polishing off the homestand against Northern California rival UC Davis.