CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (0-0, 0-0 Pac-12) at LINDENWOOD lions (0-0, 0-0 ASUN)
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2023 • 6 pm CSt/4 PM PST
HUNTER STADIUM • ST. CHARLES, MO 

NEW ERA STARTS UNDER JENNIFER WONG
— Jennifer Wong makes her debut as the California lacrosse head coach on Friday in the Golden Bears' 2023 season opener at Lindenwood
— Wong spent 14 seasons over two stints on the coaching staff at Temple (2008-09, 2011-22) including the last seven campaigns as the Owls' associate head coach (2016-22)
— Wong is the fifth head coach in Cal history following Jill Malko (1999-2007), Theresa Sherry (2008-11), Ginger Miles (2012-14) and Brooke Eubanks (2015-22)

SEASON OPENER
— Cal and Lindenwood are meeting for the first time ever
— The Bears are looking to win season opener for the first time since knocking off UC Davis in 2018  
— Cal is opening on the road for a second consecutive campaign for the first time in school history with the Bears' 2022 campaign having started at Navy
— Saturday's forecast in St. Charles calls for sunny/clear skies, a gametime temperature of 39 degrees that is expected to dip into the low to mid 30s before the game ends and light winds

SCHEDULE NOTES
— Cal opens its 2023 campaign with a season-long four-game road trip, with the Bears also playing this Sunday in a neutral site game at Lindenwood against Central Michigan before their Pac-12 opener at Stanford and a non-conference trip to San Diego State next Wednesday and Sunday
— Cal will play three straight nonconference games at home against Cornell (Feb. 25), Howard (March 9) and American (March 12) following the season-opening trip
— Six of Cal's 10 scheduled Pac-12 games come against teams in the Inside Lacrosse/IWLCA preseason poll with home-and-away matchups slated against No. 14 Stanford, No. 18 USC and No. 25 Colorado
— Cal hosts the Pac-12 Championship for the first time ever May 3-6   

A LOOK AT THE ROSTER
— Cal returns five of its top seven scorers from 2022 with Maya Lawliss (30 goals, 9 assists, 39 points) putting up the biggest offensive numbers among the returnees a year ago followed by Amanda Morse (31, 4, 35), Olivia Dey (10, 3, 13), Quinnlyn Mason (9, 4, 13) and Kennedy Mason (9, 1, 10) 
— The Golden Bears also return their leader in draw controls from last season in Kennedy Goss, who finished the 2022 campaign with 80 and was one shy of Cal's all-time single-season record of 81 set by Eliza Christman in 2019
— Both of the team's goalkeepers who played a year ago are back in Riley Drullinger and Alicia Souliotis
— The Bears have 11 newcomers on their 32-player roster including junior transfer Charlotte Smith, as well as freshmen Elle Anhut, Annette Ciupek, Brynn Gallagher, Avery Hoeft, Josie Lillquist, Clara Page, Amanda Pio, Chloe Rand, Alyssa Studdert and Courtney Wong
— Among the top players Cal has lost from 2022 are leading scorer Liz Scott (46 goals, 8 assists, 54 points) and Nikki Zaccaro, who is the program's all-time leader in games played (79), assists (93) and assists per game (1.18), as well as the 2022 Pac-12 Women's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year  

TEAM CAPTAINS
— Seniors Brooke Baker, Olivia Dey, Quinnlyn Mason and Amanda Morse were announced as captains Thursday on the eve of the Bears' season-opener 
— Mason is a team captain for the second straight campaign while each of the other three is serving for the first time  

25 YEARS OF CAL LACROSSE
— Cal celebrates the 25th season of women's lacrosse in 2023 with the program first gaining intercollegiate status in 1999 as a member of the Western Women's Lacrosse League
— The Bears joined the Mountain Pacific Lacrosse League in 2002, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in 2004 and the Pac-12 in 2018  
— Highlights have included a 2004 MPSF title with a victory over Stanford and a Pac-12 Championship win against Arizona State in the second year of the event in 2019