LOWELL, Mass. – No. 5 seed Vermont entered Thursday's game looking for the program's first postseason win. That will have to wait another year as No. 4 California scored a late goal in the fourth quarter to win 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the America East Field Hockey Tournament on the Wicked Blue Field on the UMass-Lowell campus.
 
"I think that we were pretty nervous to start," Donna Fong Director of Field Hockey Shellie Onstead said. "Both teams were playing a little tentative in the first quarter. I think we got our jitters out in the second quarter and started linking things better offensively. We played better in the second half than in the first - which is encouraging to me because all season it has been the opposite."
 
After three periods of tight defensive play, a shot by Vermont all-conference forward Alina Gerke went off the crossbar. The Golden Bears (10-7) quickly countered when Kiki de Bruijne raced down the far right side of the field and sent a pass to Daniella Rhodes in front of the goal. Rhodes corralled the pass and fired a shot past Vermont keeper Lauren Halenkamp (7-9) for the game-winner.
 
The goal by Rhodes was her 16th of the year and fifth game-winning goal of the season. The First Team All-America East honoree was held largely in check, taking just one shot. For the day, Cal was held to just six shots – well below its average of 15 shots per contest. It marked the first time since Oct. 6 that the Bears have been held to just one goal, and their first 1-0 win since Oct. 14, 2022 when Cal defeated Stanford 1-0 in a shootout.
 
It was the sixth assist of the season for de Bruijne.
 
Defensively, the Bears were terrific. Tina Jolly (10-7) notched her first career shutout, finishing the afternoon with one save. It was just the second game this season in which the Bears held an opponent scoreless.
 
Cal's backline did a tremendous job of limiting Vermont's looks. The Catamounts (8-10) were held to just eight shots, with only one shot on goal. A key defensive play by the Bears came late in the fourth quarter when Vermont had a 2-on-1 situation, but Cal defender Sydney Decher stepped in front of the Vermont attacker and knocked the ball away.
 
"I'm really happy with the play of Sydney," Onstead said. "After an injury early, she stepped in and played a fantastic game. She was my super sub because I can play her anywhere and she just played most of the game in the center of the backline and made a game-saving play on that 2v1."
 
The first period featured very little offense with neither side recording a shot. Cal took the ball deep in the Catamounts territory on several occasions but couldn't put a shot on goal in the early going.
 
In the second period, the Bears got the two best looks of the half, both coming off penalty corners. In both cases, Bente Baekers blasted a shot on goal, but in both instances Halenkamp was up to the task, recording both of her two saves.
 
"I'm just proud that we figured out how to get it done and stay in the moment," Onstead said. "They never panicked and that will help us with the belief going forward. All these games are going to be close and we need to be ready for that."
 
Cal will return to action Friday morning when it faces No. 1 seed and tournament host UMass-Lowell in the semifinals. The game is scheduled for a 9 a.m. PT start time and will feature live stats and video.
 
 
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