LOWELL, Mass. – Playing without top scoring threat Daniella Rhodes on the road against a top-20 opponent, the California field hockey team battled before coming up just short in a 2-1 defeat against No. 17 UMass-Lowell on Friday afternoon on the Wicked Blue Field.
 
Cal (4-7, 1-3 America East) outshot UMass-Lowell (10-2, 3-0 America East) 19-14, which included an 11-7 advantage in shots on goals. The Golden Bears also had an advantage in penalty corners, 7-6. The Bears' frontline trio of Holly Pears, Bente Baekers, and Kitty Baccanello led the attack with 14 combined shots. Pears scored her third career goal, which came early in the first quarter.
 
"By the stats, we had had the advantage early," Donna Fong Director of Field Hockey Shellie Onstead said. "They picked it up in the second quarter and the game evened out in the second half. After a lot of back-and-forth play, I'm happy about the effort from our side. I think the team really responded to the absence of Daniella. Holly got a lot more minutes and she really picked it up. I think our forwards shared the load well."
 
Cal seized the early momentum. The Bears tallied three consecutive penalty corners in the opening minutes of the contest with Cal threatening to score the game's opening contest on all three. However, the River Hawks were able to turn the Bears away all three times. Not long after, Pears put the Bears out front. The freshman stole a ball from UMass-Lowell's defender just inside its circle and blasted a shot to the top left corner for her third goal of the year.
 
The Bear's lead did not last long, however. The River Hawks tied the game up in the sixth minute on a goal by Isabelle Halters, her fifth of the year. UMass-Lowell keeper Christian Calandra (5-2) had four of her six saves in the first quarter. She combined with Marie Oliemans to keep the Bears scoreless over the final three quarters.
 
Early in the second quarter, UMass-Lowell captured the lead for good. A lengthy pass from Meike Vischer from just inside Cal's half of the field found Madison Leeper alone in the circle. Leeper put just enough on her shot to score her ninth goal of the season.
 
UMass-Lowell tallied seven shots in the third, four on goal. Tina Jolly (4-7) was spectacular for the Bears, recording four of her five saves in the period - including a huge save before the end of the third when UMass-Lowell had a two-on-none situation.
 
The teams combined for 14 shots in the second half, with the River Hawks owning an 8-6 advantage. In the fourth, the Bears went back on the attack, taking five shots – four on goal. Cal got great looks from Baekers, Baccanello, and Kiki de Bruijne late, but Oliemans kept the Bears off the scoreboard.
 
"I took the goalie out with three minutes to go, and we really had them on the ropes but just couldn't get the goal or the corner that we needed," Onstead said. "It's a game I expected from Cal – UMass-Lowell in a conference game. They celebrated pretty hard because they have a lot of respect for us. I hope to see them again in the (America East) tournament. Individually, Kiki has been super solid in the middle and really holding down the fort for everybody - just super consistent.
 
Cal returns to action Sunday morning against Bryant at Beirne Stadium in Smithfield, R.I. The game is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. PT and will feature live stats and live video.
 
 
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