BERKELEY – The California field hockey team struck first and battled all afternoon against No. 3 Maryland. Unfortunately for the Golden Bears, three goals by the Terrapins in the fourth quarter was the difference as Maryland came away with the hard-fought 4-1 win on Sunday afternoon at Underhill Field.
 
Through two periods the Bears (0-2) once again had the advantage on shots and penalty corners. At the intermission, the Bears had a 6-1 advantage in shots and a 2-0 edge in corners. However, late in the third quarter and most of the fourth, Maryland (2-0) took control. The Terrapins finished the second half with 12 shots and seven penalty corners which led to three goals late to put the game away.
 
"I am ecstatic that we had a great game today and competed for the whole 60," said Donna Fong Director of Field Hockey Shellie Onstead. "We had them on the ropes for a good part of it. The most important thing I said to the team in pregame is 'We need to stick to the game plan no matter what's going on.' We made a big shift in the game plan from the other day and I'm just really proud of them for embracing it."
 
Kitty Baccanello scored the game's opening goal late in the first quarter. Bente Baekers created a turnover deep in Maryland's territory and found Baccanello open in the attack circle to notch her first goal as a Golden Bear.
 
"Kitty's nickname is 'Gritty'," Onstead said when discussing the forward. "She's just in the right place, always going to go after it until we pull her off. And she's always going to be in the right place around the goal and that's what I think is one of her superpowers."
 
Early in the second quarter Maryland got the equalizer from Margo Lawn, who scored on the assist from Maci Bradford. After a scoreless third period and most of the fourth, the Terrapins finally capitalized on their late chances. Hope Rose scored a pair of goals, the first coming on a penalty corner at the 54-minute mark.
 
The four goals spoiled an otherwise stellar performance from sophomore keeper Tina Jolly (0-2). Making just her second career start, Jolly finished with a career-high five saves and routinely ended Maryland scoring opportunities.
 
"Tina was a bit nervous in game one in the moment," added Onstead. "We talked to her after that game and before this game and said 'Okay, you've got that done, don't worry about it, we don't need to analyze what happened, let's just go' and that's what I was hoping to see today from her. She did a great job."
 
Less than two minutes later, a Cal turnover deep in the Bears' territory led to an easy goal for Rose. Two minutes later Sammy Popper put the game away, scoring a goal off the feed from Nathalie Fiechter to make it 4-1 Maryland.  
 
Baekers led all players with five shots, three on goal. Baccanello had two shots. Danielle Rhodes and Maria Cambra Soler had a shot each for the Bears.
 
Cal returns to action tomorrow afternoon when No. 16 Rutgers comes to Underhill Field. The game is scheduled for a 1:04 p.m. start and will be televised on the Pac-12 Network with Troy Clardy calling the action live. Fans can also follow the action live via live stats at Statbroadcast.com.
 
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