CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Senior Kennedy Mason tied her career high with six goals and junior Annette Ciupek and freshman Ashleigh Masterson also set new personal standards for scoring as the California women's lacrosse team won a back-and-forth 19-16 contest  over Charlotte on Friday at Jerry Richardson Stadium.

Ciupek added four goals and Masterson had three goals and an assist, as the Golden Bears improved to 6-8 for the year – their most wins since finishing 7-12 in 2019.

Cal had to overcome an early 4-1 deficit and then twice staved off second-half Charlotte rallies to hold on for the victory.

Mason, who also scored six goals during the Bears' season-opening win at UC Davis, notched three of Cal's four goals during a pivotal run midway through the second quarter that gave the Bears the lead for good. Two of her goals broke a tie and another came during a stretch in which Cal scored five unanswered goals to establish a 12-7 lead late in the period.

The Bears led 14-9 midway through the third quarter before the 49ers scored four in a row to cut Cal's advantage to 14-13 early in the fourth. Mason came to the rescue again, scoring two more times during a 4-0 Cal run to push the lead back to 18-13 at the 8:11 mark. Charlotte answered again with three goals in succession to make it 18-16, but sophomore Jane Middleton provided the clincher with 55 seconds to go.

Cal leading scorer Emily Moes scored three times to give her 35 goals on the season, while Mason now has 32.

The Bears return to ACC play Sunday with their final road game of the season at No. 1 North Carolina.
 

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