UC DAVIS AGGIES (1-3, 0-0 BIG 12) AT CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (3-1, 1-0 ACC)
MONDAY, FEB. 23, 2026 • 5 PM PT
CALIFORNIA MEMORIAL STADIUM (BERKELEY, CA)

CALIFORNIA-UC DAVIS LACROSSE HISTORY
— Cal leads the all-time series against UC Davis, 17-12, and has won three of the last four meetings, including a 15-14 decision in their only matchup in 2025 in Davis.
— Three of the last four meetings have been decided by a single goal - two of Cal's three wins (2022, 25) and its loss (2024).
— UC Davis had won five in a row against the Golden Bears prior to the last four-game stretch.
— The visiting team has won each of the last five games with UC Davis the last home team to record a win when the Aggies won each of their two home meetings in Davis and all three overall in 2021.
— Cal owns the longest win streak in the series by capturing all eight games played during a nine-season period that began with the second meeting in 2001 through 2009.
 
UNDER THE LIGHTS
— Cal has only four regular-season games in 2026 starting at 5 p.m. local time or later and only one in Berkeley on Monday' against UC Davis. Cal started at 6 p.m. PT at San Diego State in its season opener and still has a 5:30 p.m. ET start at Xavier (March 24) and a 6 p.m. PT start at Stanford (April 16).
 
LAST TIME OUT: CAL 14, AT OREGON 9
—  Josie Lillquist and Courtney Wong led the way in a 14-9 win at Oregon in Cal's most recent contest last Thursday with six points each as Lillquist equaled a career-high five goals and added one assist, while Wong scored two goals and assisted on four. Wong also had a career- and game-high nine draw controls. Avery Hoeft added two goals and two assists, while Brynn Gallagher's two goals marked the first multiple-goal game of her career. Katie Bloomer, Emily Moes and Katie McMullen each had a single goal for the Bears, while Moes and Alina Hsu added one assist each.
—  Bloomer also led the Bears' defensive effort with a career and game-high three caused turnovers, while Clara Page and Lulu Murphy had a game-high-tying four ground balls with that number also a career-high for Murphy, who improved to 3-1 in goal for the Bears and recorded six saves.
 
CAL ROLLIN' TO ITS BEST START SINCE 2007
— With three wins in its first four games, Cal is off to its best start since 2007. Cal's 3-1 record is tied for its best ever after four games, with only the school-record 8-1 start by the 2003 squad and a 5-1 mark by the 2007 team better.
 
FIRST ACC WIN
— Cal's 10-9 victory over Florida State in its 2026 ACC and home opener on Feb. 13 was the Golden Bears' first-ever ACC win, as well as its first victory in a conference opener since a 2019 home win over Oregon in a Pac-12 opener. Cal was 0-9 in conference games in its first season in the ACC in 2025.  
 
NONCONFERENCE SUCCESS
— Cal's nonconference fate over the last two seasons has been much different than its results in the ACC. Since joining the league that currently has five of the nation's top eight teams and nine ranked in the top 25 at the beginning of its 2025 season, the Bears have an 8-2 mark in games against non-ACC opponents with both losses to former Pac-12 foe USC. 
 
WINNING THE CLOSE ONES
— Each of Cal's first two victories in 2026 came by a single goal at San Diego State (13-12) and at home against Florida State (10-9). Cal, which is 2-0 in games decided by a single goal in 2026, had dropped its previous four one-goal games dating back to 2024.  
 
WONG, MOES AND LILLQUIST LEADING THE WAY ON OFFENSE
— Courtney Wong (20 points - 9 goals, 11 assists), Emily Moes (15 points - 11 goals, 4 assists) and Josie Lillquist (10 points - 7 goals, 3 assists) are the team's top three scorers through four games with the trio having accounted for 61.6% (45-of-73) of the squad's points in 2026. Wong's season totals for points and assists are team highs, while Moes' goals are a team best.

TOUGH 2026 SCHEDULE
— Seven Cal opponents are currently ranked in the IWLCA Division I Coaches Poll. Cal's first five games of the season are against teams currently unranked (at San Diego State, at USC, Florida State, at Oregon, UC Davis) before the Bears play seven of their final 12 regular-season contests against teams currently among the nation's top 20 in  No. 23 Duke (Feb. 28), No. 12 Syracuse (March 3), No. 11 Boston College (March 7), No. 1 North Carolina (March 12), No. 8 Notre Dame (March 28), No. 9 Clemson (April 3) and No. 2 Stanford (April 16). All seven teams that are currently ranked in the 2026 poll played in the 16-team NCAA Championship in 2025, with North Carolina the national champion and Boston College reaching the semifinals.  
 
SAME STARTERS
— Cal has had the same starting lineup in each of its first four games in 2026 with the group, including attackers Josie Lillquist, Ashleigh Masterson, Emily Moes and Courtney Wong; midfielders Katie Bloomer, Annette Ciupek, Willow Cyr and Ari Tavoso; defenders Kennedy Herndon, Grace Kerr and Clara Page; and goalkeeper Lulu Murphy.  
 
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT
— Cal has allowed just nine goals in each of its last two games after allowing a combined 28 in its first two. 
— Cal is looking to hold opponents to single digits in three straight games for the first time since doing it in all three games of a three-game win streak that lasted from March 10-16, 2024 (Winthrop, Butler, at Oregon). 
 
WEATHER
— The AccuWeather forecast for Berkeley on Monday at first draw calls for intermittent clouds, a 0% chance of precipitation, a temperature of 64 degrees, and winds out of the west/southwest at seven miles per hour.
— The differences in weather during Cal's last two road games was drastic. On Feb. 8 at USC in Los Angeles, it was 81 degrees under sunny skies at first draw before dropping 40 degrees to 41 at Oregon in Eugene on Feb. 19.  
 
HEAD COACH JENNIFER WONG
— Jennifer Wong is in her fourth season as the Cal lacrosse head coach in 2026. In each of her first three seasons with the Golden Bears, Wong's team has posted a better record than in the previous campaign
— Wong is the only head coach in Cal lacrosse history to have won the season opener in each of her first four campaigns.
— Wong was named Cal's head coach on Aug. 30, 2022, following a long and successful coaching tenure on the staff at Temple, where she spent 14 campaigns during two stints from 2008-09 and 2011-22.
 
THE ROAD AHEAD
— Cal has already taken two of its four road trips outside of the Bay Area during the 2026 season with its visits to San Diego State/USC (Feb. 6-8) and Oregon (Feb. 19). Still on the docket are a two-game road swing at Duke and Syracuse (Feb. 28 - March 3) and three straight at Louisville, Xavier and Notre Dame (March 21-28). Cal also has a trip across the Bay for the regular-season finale at Stanford on April 16.
 
A LITTLE MORE
— Cal is scheduled to host eight games at California Memorial Stadium in 2026 with UC Davis the only opponent in the Pacific Time Zone. UC Davis is just over 60 miles from the Cal campus while each of the other seven opponents are more than 2,500 miles away.
 
LONG TRIPS TO BERKELEY
— Cal is scheduled to host eight games at California Memorial Stadium in 2026, with UC Davis the only opponent of the eight in the Pacific Time Zone and just over 60 miles from the Cal campus. Each of the seven other opponents are more than 2,500 miles away.
 
HOMETOWN HERO
— Cal freshman Katie McMullen is a Davis native who was a four-year standout at Davis Senior High School, where she scored 339 career points (235 goals, 104 assists). McMullen helped her squad to Delta League titles in each of her first two campaigns as a 2022 freshman and 2023 sophomore, when they also were a North Section semifinalist. McMullen was an All-American and the Davis Senior High School Athlete of the Year in her final campaign in 2025.