California Golden Bears Athletics
California
#12 Louisville
Bears Open ACC Play at Home
9/23/2026 9:00 AM | Field Hockey
Cal Hosts No. 12 Louisville and North Carolina at Underhill Field
The No. 17 California field hockey team (5-1) opens ACC play at home this weekend, hosting No. 12 Louisville and North Carolina after being on the road since Sept. 6. The Golden Bears face the Cardinals at 2 p.m. Friday at Underhill Field, followed by a Sunday matchup with the Tar Heels at 1 p.m.
Friday will mark the 11th meeting between Cal and Louisville. The Cardinals earned a 3-1 victory over the Bears in Kentucky last season. Cal prevailed 2-1 when the teams last met in Berkeley in 2024. The Bears trail 6-4 in the all-time series.
Sunday will mark the 11th meeting between Cal and North Carolina. The Bears are 0-10 all-time against the Tar Heels, with the most recent matchup coming last season in Chapel Hill, where North Carolina earned a 5-1 victory.
Following this weekend's ACC matchups, Cal heads to Virginia for a nonconference game against VCU before returning to ACC action against Virginia. The Bears take on the Rams on Oct. 2 before facing the Cavaliers on Oct. 4.
Last Time Out
Cal fell 2-0 to No. 1 Northwestern last Saturday in a defensive battle that remained scoreless until the fourth quarter. The Bears' defense held the Wildcats without a goal through the first three quarters, and the offense outshot Northwestern 5-3 in the first quarter. Cal also denied 12 of Northwestern's 14 penalty corner attempts.
The Wildcats broke through with 11:43 remaining in the fourth quarter when Kerry McCormick converted a penalty corner. Ilse Tromp added a second goal with 6:31 remaining, also off a penalty corner. Graduate student Carine Van Wiechen anchored the defense in the cage throughout the game, recording a season-high nine saves.
Following its performance against No. 1 Northwestern, Cal moved up one spot to No. 17 in the latest Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll, released Tuesday. The Bears also rank No. 3 in the NCAA's initial Division I RPI of the season.
About the Cardinals
Louisville opened ACC play last weekend, defeating Boston College 1-0. The Cardinals also shut out Saint Joseph's 2-0 in a nonconference matchup to close out the weekend. Louisville is 6-2 overall this season and has remained in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll since Week 1.
Tyler Everslage, Chloe Plumb and Annabel Sep lead the Cardinals' offense with seven points apiece on three goals and one assist each. Aubreigh Uba also has seven points on two goals and three assists.
Emily Young has started all eight games in the cage for Louisville, recording 40 saves with a .816 save percentage. Young was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week and NFHCA Defensive Player of the Week for her performances during the week of Aug. 24-30, totaling 22 saves in two overtime wins to start the Cardinals' 2026 season 2-0.
About the Tar Heels
North Carolina opened ACC play last weekend, falling 2-1 to Virginia at home. The Tar Heels are 3-4 overall this season and 0-1 in conference play. North Carolina entered last week ranked No. 11, marking the first time since 2002 the team was outside the top 10. The Tar Heels have since dropped out of the poll entirely.
Senior Charly Bruder leads the Tar Heels with 13 points on six goals and one assist. Ella Barbacci follows with eight points on three goals and two assists.
Merritt Skubisz has started all but one game in the cage for North Carolina, recording 31 saves and posting a .756 save percentage.
2025 Recap
The California field hockey team finished the 2025 season with a record of 8-8 and a 3-5 mark in ACC play. The Golden Bears were featured in the Penn Monto/NFHCA DI National Coaches Poll at No. 19 after a sweep at home last October, beating Boston College in a two-overtime thriller followed by an upset over No. 5 Syracuse. The Bears then swept the ACC Player of the Week honors with Liz Klompmaker being named Offensive Player of the Week and goalie Delphine Ayitey-Hammond being named Defensive Player of the Week.
The Bears advanced to the ACC Championship after finishing the regular season tied for fifth place, but fell short in the first round to Duke. This marked the last game for the previous Donna Fong Director of Field Hockey, Shellie Onstead, following 30 years at the helm.
The Bears were led by Klompmaker, who led the team in points (34), goals (16) and game-winning goals (4). Klompmaker scored in 11 of 16 games played during the 2025 season, including three multi-goal performances. Klompmaker was named a Third-Team NFHCA All-American and earned First-Team NFHCA All-Region and All-ACC honors.
New Coaching Era
This season marks the first under the leadership of the Donna Fong Co-Directors of Field Hockey, Tara and Steve Danielson. Tara Danielson comes to Cal after serving as the head coach at Stanford alongside Steve Danielson from 2010-21, and Steve Danielson spent the previous five seasons as the associate head coach at New Hampshire. Together, the coaching pair brings more than 30 years of coaching experience, highlighted by NCAA Tournament success, international competition and developing student-athletes into All-Americans and nationally recognized players.
Fresh Faces
The Golden Bears welcome five new players to this year's roster, which includes four freshmen and one graduate transfer. Highlighting this year's newcomers are freshman Maria Scocco and graduate transfer Carine Van Wiechen. Scocco was a standout for her high school in Buenos Aires, Argentina, St. Georges College North. Van Wiechen was a consistent presence in the cage for Boston College last season, allowing only 10 goals in 12 appearances.
Returning Experience
Cal will have plenty of experience coming back as it returns seven full-time starters from last season, headlined by Klompmaker, who was named to the Preseason All-ACC team. Also expected to make an impact is senior Holly Pears. Pears ranked third on the team in points (11) last season, highlighted by scoring the game-winning overtime goal against UC Davis.
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