Cal at Buckeye Invitational: No. 5 Penn State
Saturday, Oct. 7 | 9Â AM PT/12Â PM ET | Buckeye Varsity Field |Â Columbus, Ohio
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Cal at Buckeye Invitational: Ohio State
The road warrior Golden Bears of the California field hockey squad continue a six-game road stretch with a pair of battles against Big 10 opponents in No. 5 Penn State and Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio this weekend. The action gets underway from Buckeye Varsity Field beginning Saturday against the fifth-ranked Nittany Lions at 9 a.m. PT/noon ET, and wraps up with the hosting Buckeyes on Sunday at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET.
The Bears are currently undefeated on the road (5-0) and facing their toughest test yet in Penn State, their first Top 10 foe since the Aug. 25 season opener against then-No. 5 Syracuse. A high-powered Cal offense, which ranks top 15 in the nation in points per game (13th, 8.30), assists per game (13th, 2.50) and goals per game (14th, 2.90) will get a second-straight shot at a Big 10 defense with the Buckeyes. The Bears have won six consecutive games and look to stretch their streak to at least seven-straight, a feat that has not been matched by the program since 2007.
Live stats for both games, and a live stream link for the Cal-Ohio State contest, can be accessed via the field hockey schedule page on CalBears.com. Follow @CalFieldHockey on Instagram and Twitter, plus Facebook.com/CalFH for a behind-the-scenes look at gameday and more.
HEAD COACH SHELLIE ONSTEAD'S TAKE
"Our big weekend date with the Big 10 comes at just the right time and will help us in our last four conference games."
NEED TO KNOW
• The Bears have defeated two Top 25 opponents this season -- No. 22 UMass (2-1) and No. 24 Pacific (4-1). Cal is 0-1 against Top 5 opponents, losing to No. 5 Syracuse 2-0.
• Cal's last win over a Top 10 opponent came in a 2-1 golden goal victory over Stanford on Sept. 18, 2015.
• Cal won the last meeting with Penn State in an overtime thriller in Happy Valley
• With a win against Penn State, Cal would match the program's longest victory streak since 2007 (7 games).
• The Bears rank Top 15 in the country in five categories -- Assists Per Game (13th), Points Per Game (13th), Goals Per Game (14th), Scoring Average (15th) and Winning Percentage (15th)
SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS
• Last Meeting: W, 3-2 in OT, on Sept. 11, 2015
• Series: Penn State leas, 4-1
• Streak: California's golden goal in the last meeting with the then-No. 14 Nittany Lions gave the Bears their first-ever win in the all-time series.
• Moira Putsch leads Penn State in every offensive category -- points (32), goals (11) and assists (10).
• Aurelia Meijer (6 goals, 4 assists), Gini Bramley (5 goals, 2 assists) and Madison Morano (5 goals, 2 assists) are also contributing heavily to the Nittany Lion offense.
• Jenny Rizzo has 12 appearances in goal, allowing 16 goals in nearly 825 minutes for a slim 1.36 goals against average. She has 64 saves and four shutouts.
• The Nittany Lions are outscoring opponents 38-16.
• Penn State's losses this season have come against No. 9 Michigan (3-0) and No. 6 Delware (2-0).
SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES
• Last Meeting: L, 6-3, on Oct. 25, 2015
• Series: Cal leads, 5-3
• Streak: The Buckeyes have won the last two contests in the series.
• Maddy Humphrey paces the Buckeys with a team-high six goals and 15 points, plus three assists.
• Maartje Bongers leads in assists with six.
• Ten different Buckeyes have scored goals this season.
• Liz Tamburro has manned the cage in all 11 Ohio State contests this season, allowing just 15 goals in nearly 800 minutes for a 1.32 goals against average. She has three shutouts.
• Ohio State averages 1.91 goals per game.
• The Buckeyes have played two of Cal's America East West Division foes, taking wins over No. 11 Stanford (3-2, OT) and UC Davis (1-0).
CAL COUNTING UP WEEKLY HONORS
California's accolades continue to grow with the Golden Bears claiming five America East weekly honors to date this season.
Megan Rodgers is the most recent Bear to earn conference laurels, taking home her second Rookie of the Week award this season after a brace in Cal's win at UC Davis this week.
Melina Moore was voted Player of the Week in week 4 with three points on a goal and an assist in the Bears' conference-opening, 4-1 win against Pacific. The week prior, Cal swept the America East weekly awards with a perfect 2-0 weekend on the road. Rodgers scored five goals in two games to earn both Player and Rookie of the Week honors and
Danielle Mentink earned the Defensive Player of the Week nod after allowing only one goal in 19 shots faced for a league-best 0.50 goals against average.Â
NEXT UP
Cal is set for a double dose of conference foes. The Bears wrap up their six-game road stretch at Pacific on Friday, Oct. 13, then return home to host rival Stanford at Underhill Field on Sunday, Oct. 15.
