BERKELEY - California heads east again this week for three games - Penn State on Thursday, Sept. 26, at 3:30 p.m. in a neutral site contest, followed by contests at No. 12 Delaware on Friday, Sept. 27, at 3 p.m. and Drexel on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 10 a.m. PT. The Golden Bears are looking to snap a five-game losing streak after winning their season opener.  
 
Cal is continuing a stretch of facing numerous ranked opponents, with Friday's meeting with Delaware the sixth out of the last seven games against ranked foes. Head coach Shellie Onstead has been pleased with her squad has played despite just missing out on pulling off the victories over the ranked opponents.  

Dalton Dazzles In The Cage
• Cal goalie Natalie Dalton set a career-high with 14 saves against No. 7 Iowa. She followed that performance with six stops vs. No. 2 Duke, giving her 20 saves for the weekend. With her average of 7.50 saves per game, Dalton ranks seventh in the NCAA rankings in that category. As a team, Cal ranks ninth with an average of 8.17 saves per game.         

Bears All-Time Vs. Penn State, Delaware and Drexel
• Cal is 1-5 all-time vs. Penn State, 0-1 all-time vs. Delaware and 2-3 all-time vs. Drexel. In 2015, Cal beat No. 14 Penn State, 3-2, in overtime. The last time Cal beat a ranked team was when the Bears beat Stanford on Oct. 15, 2017, a 4-2 win over the 14th-ranked Cardinal.     

Rodgers Gets First Two Goals Of 2019
• Megan Rodgers scored two of Cal's three goals vs. No. 7 Iowa and No. 2 Duke. After being held off the scoresheet through the first three games, Cal's leading scorer from 2018 tallied her first of the year on a penalty stroke against the Hawkeyes. The next day against the Blue Devils, she got the Bears on the board in the final minutes of the contest. She and Maddie Cleat are tied for the team lead in goals (2) and points (5). Rodgers ranks eighth in school history in career goals (32), one shy of seventh and two shy of sixth. She needs one point to crack the top 10 in career points.      

Bears Fall at Stanford
• In Cal's most-recent game, head coach Shellie Onstead was pleased with how Cal held No. 16 Stanford to only three corners last Friday, but the Cardinal converted on two of those tries to beat the Bears, 2-0, on The Farm.   

Sweet Cleat
• In the season opener against Quinnipiac, Maddie Cleat corralled a long downfield pass, juggled the ball on her stick with an emerging goalie coming in fast. She maintained possession and slapped a shot past the keeper in Cal's 5-1 win. The play was the America East Conference's Geico Top Play of the Week. 

Competitive Schedule
• Cal is navigating through a stretch of playing six ranked opponents in its last seven games based off the NFHCA's current Top-25 poll. Cal will face a total of nine ranked foes based off the NFHCA's preseason poll, including three in Berkeley starting with a 2-1 loss to No. 7 Michigan on Sept. 8 and upcoming matchups against No. 19 Syracuse and No. 15 Stanford). This isn't anything new for the Bears, though, as they had one of the nation's toughest schedules in 2018.   

Godfrid Headed To Cal Hall Of Fame
• Valentina Godfrid (2003-06), a first-team All-American who is the program's all-time leading scorer, has been elected into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame, part of the 34th class of inductees that will be enshrined the weekend of Nov. 8-9. Godfrid was a three-time NorPac Conference Player of the Year, as well as the league's Offensive Player of the Year her junior season. She led Cal to four consecutive conference titles and to three NCAA Tournament berths. Information on tickets to the HOF banquet can be found at bigcsociety.org.

Bears Tabbed Second In AE West
• America East coaches predicted a second-place finish in the West Division for the Bears, according to the league's preseason poll. It marked the Golden Bears' best standing in the preseason poll in four years. Now a three-team division in the West, Stanford is the favorite to win the West once again, while Albany was picked to win the East. The Cardinal sits atop the West Division with four points and two first-place votes, followed by the Bears in second with three points and one first-place vote. UC Davis rounds out the division in third. In 2018, Cal finished 2-4 in conference play with both wins coming against the Aggies.

Red, White, Blue & Gold
• In addition to head coach Shellie Onstead, associate head coach Austin Pile and assistant coach Malachi Mahan holding national team playing or coaching experience, the Golden Bears have a long pipeline of individuals associated with Cal field hockey playing or working with Team USA. Megan Rodgers (U21), Katrina Carter (U.S. Development Squad), Brynn Zorilla (U19, U21) and Megan Connors (U19) have all played for U.S. National teams. 

Next Up
• Cal returns home to face another ranked foe in No. 19 Syracuse on Friday, Oct. 4, followed by Central Michigan on Sunday, Oct. 6.