No. 15 Bears Set For Last Nonconference Matchup

The No. 15 California field hockey team (7-5, 1-4 ACC) heads to Davis on Sunday for its final nonconference matchup of the season. The Golden Bears will face in-state foe UC Davis (3-8) at 1 p.m. PT at the Aggie Field Hockey Facility.

Cal and UC Davis have a longstanding history, dating to their first matchup in 1976. The Bears lead the all-time series 30-1-7 and won last season's meeting 2-1 in overtime on the road.

Following Sunday's contest, the Bears will head east for a weekend of key ACC matchups. Cal will open the trip against Boston College on Oct. 23 at 1 p.m. PT before heading to Syracuse to face No. 13 Syracuse on Sunday at 9 a.m. PT.

Last Time Out
The Bears closed their home schedule with two closely contested ACC matchups. On Friday evening, California and then-No. 8 Wake Forest were scoreless through three quarters before the Demon Deacons scored twice late in the fourth to secure a 2-0 victory.

The Bears started strong, earning back-to-back penalty corners in the opening minutes. Although Cal was unable to convert, its defense held Wake Forest to one shot and no penalty corners in the first quarter. The Bears outshot the Demon Deacons 4-1 and earned three penalty corners to Wake Forest's one. Neither team found the back of the cage before halftime.

With the game still scoreless in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, overtime appeared likely. However, Wake Forest earned back-to-back penalty corners with two minutes remaining. On the second attempt, Ava Moore received the insert and sent a behind-the-back pass to Mia Schoenbeck, who one-timed the ball into the cage to give the Demon Deacons a 1-0 lead.

Just 23 seconds later, with 1:33 remaining, Lena Keller drove into the circle and sent a cross to Bianca Rees-Gibbs, who finished with a diving sweep into the corner of the cage to secure the 2-0 victory.

On Sunday, the Bears faced Duke in another tightly contested matchup. The teams played to a scoreless first half, with Cal recording one shot and Duke registering three and earning the lone penalty corner. The Blue Devils broke the deadlock late in the third quarter to take a 1-0 lead.

Cal's offense came alive in the fourth quarter, with Josefina Moyano and Liz Klompmaker scoring just three minutes apart to give the Bears a 2-1 advantage.

Following Klompmaker's go-ahead goal, Duke pulled its goalkeeper for an extra attacker with five minutes remaining. Cal's defense held firm until just over two minutes remained, when the Blue Devils earned back-to-back penalty corners. On the second attempt, Duke was awarded a penalty stroke, which Julia Boehringer converted into the top-left corner to tie the game at 2-2.

The game went to a shootout, where Holly Pears and Klompmaker converted for Cal, while Alaina McVeigh and Boehringer scored for Duke to leave the shootout tied at 2-2.

The teams then advanced to sudden-victory attempts. McVeigh converted again to give Duke the advantage. Pears attempted a direct sweep on Cal's response, but Duke goalkeeper Chepow made the save to secure the victory for the Blue Devils.

Following the weekend, Cal remained in the latest Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll, released Tuesday, dropping one spot to No. 15. The Bears also ranked No. 20 in the NCAA Division I RPI as of Oct. 14.

About the Aggies
UC Davis is coming off a bye week after a weekend of travel to the East Coast. The Aggies dropped their last two contests, falling 1-3 to Dartmouth on Oct. 2 and 3-2 to Sacred Heart on Oct. 4. Before facing Cal, Davis will welcome fellow ACC opponent Stanford on Friday.

The Aggies made history in late September, upsetting then-No.12 Louisville 1-0. This marked the program's first-ever win over an ACC opponent and their first victory over a ranked team since 2013. Senior Molly Main netted the game winner, marking her first career goal.

Senior Ella Franken leads Davis with seven points off two goals and three assists. Fellow seniors Katie Kim and Morgan Caldera both have four points off two goals. Addy Collingwood has started all but one game in the cage for the Aggies, posting a .704 save percentage with 57 saves on the year.

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