FRIDAY, OCT. 4
CAL (6-1, 0-1 ACC) VS. NO. 12 DUKE (5-4, 1-1) | 4 P.M. PT | UNDERHILL FIELD | BERKELEY, CALIF.
LIVE STREAM: ESPN+/ACCNX | LIVE STATS: CLICK HERE
 
SUNDAY, OCT. 6
CAL AT VS. NO. 1 NORTH CAROLINA (6-0, 1-0) | 12 P.M. PT | UNDERHILL FIELD | BERKELEY, CALIF.
LIVE STREAM: ESPN+/ACCNX | LIVE STATS: CLICK HERE

The California field hockey team will host a pair of ranked opponents at Underhill Field this week, beginning Friday in its first-ever ACC home opener against No. 12 Duke, followed by No. 1 North Carolina on Sunday. Coverage for both games will be available on ESPN+/ACCNX and live stats.

It will be a historic evening for the Golden Bears (6-1, 0-1 ACC) who after starting the season 6-1, made their first appearance in the Penn Monto/NFHCA D1 Coaches Poll since the 2018 season, sitting at No. 20 ahead of a big week.

As a team, the Bears rank fourth in the nation in defensive saves (6), fifth in assists per game (3.14), ninth in points per game (8.86) and tenth in scoring margin (1.71).
 
FRESHMAN SENSATION
Freshman Liz Klompmaker continues to put the nation on notice as her stellar play continues. Klompmaker has scored two goals in the each of the last three games and has accomplished this feat in four games this season. She has also registered at least one goal in all seven outings this season. Klompmaker ranks third in the nation in goals per game (1.57) and fifth in points per game (3.29). She leads the ACC in total goals (11), is tied for first in game-winning goals (4), second in shots per game (5.83) and points per game (3.29) and fourth in shots on goal (18).
 
GOING FOR 300
Donna Fong Director of Field Hockey Shellie Onstead sits one win away from a career milestone of 300 total victories. With a win against No. 12 Duke on Friday, Onstead could accomplish this feat.  
 
ABOUT THE BLUE DEVILS
No. 12 Duke enters Friday's matchup with an overall record of 5-4 (1-1 ACC) after enduring one of the toughest schedules in the nation so far. The Blue Devils will take on their eight consecutive ranked opponent when they visit the Bears. During that span, Duke has won three out of its last seven games, with wins over then-ranked No. 4 Maryland, then-ranked No. 18 Old Dominion and then-ranked No. 15 Syracuse. This will be the ninth meeting all-time and first as ACC foes between Cal and Duke. Duke has won all eight previous matchups with the last coming on Sept. 14, 2019 (4-1).
 
ABOUT THE TAR HEELS
No. 1 North Carolina remains unbeaten with a 6-0 (1-0 ACC) overall record after defeating then-ranked No. 11 Liberty in its last outing (7-0). The Tar Heels will face off against Stanford on Friday before visiting the Bears on Sunday. It will be the eighth all-time meeting between the two teams, and North Carolina has won all seven of the previous matchups. The last time the teams faced off came on Sept. 9, 2022, when the Blue Devils claimed a shutout victory, 7-0.  

LAST TIME OUT
Cal clinched its third shutout victory this season against UC Davis, 4-0, to end its three-game road trip. Freshman Liz Klompmaker got on the attack early to score her first goal in the opening minute off assists from graduate student Canisha van Duyn and senior Sydney Decher. Junior Olivia Sharratt followed up with a goal at the 10:41 mark in the first period. Klompmaker added another goal, based on the assist from Sharratt, to give the Bears a 3-0 lead heading into the second period. Freshman Maya Hoepfner scored her third goal of the season early in the third period off a penalty stroke to extend Cal's lead to 4-0.

2023 RECAP
The Bears made sure their final year in the America East Conference was a memorable one, winning the AE Tournament title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 17 years. Cal gave an indication of what type of season it might be early on when it knocked off No. 5 Penn State in the fourth game of the year.
 
The Bears finished in fourth place in the America East standings and then had a thrilling run to the AE Tournament title, winning all three of their games by one goal - including the final two in overtime. They knocked off top-seeded UMass-Lowell in the semifinals before ousting No. 2 Albany for the championship.
 
After the season, graduate student Daniella Rhodes was named to the NFHCA All-West Region First Team while fellow grad transfer Bente Baekers and senior Kiki de Bruijne garnered second-team accolades. It marked just the third time in program history the Bears have had three players earn all-region honors in the same season.
 
WELCOME TO THE ACC
The University of California, Berkeley, announced last Sept. 1 that its athletic department was joining the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. With that, the Bears joined arguably the top field hockey conference in the country. North Carolina has won five of the past six NCAA championships, and seven ACC teams are ranked in the NFHCA preseason poll. Cal played its first ACC game ever when it visited No. 3 Virginia on Sept. 20.
 
THE NEWCOMERS
The Bears welcome 10 new players to this year's roster, including two international graduate transfers who are making their NCAA debuts. Noemie Mekki (Paris) and Canisha van Duyn (Emmen, Netherlands) are playing their first collegiate seasons after accomplished club and international careers. Mekki was the captain of France's U21 national team last summer.  Another graduate transfer from The Netherlands - Carmel van Dijk - spent her undergraduate career at Fairfield and was an All-NEC Second-Team selection last season.
 
RETURNING EXPERIENCE
Despite the loss of several key players from last year's America East championship team, the Bears still have a hefty dose of experience with seniors Sophie Everett and Sydney Decher, junior goalkeeper Tina Jolly and sophomores Holly Pears and Anjana Pioch. Pears is Cal's returning leading point-scorer with five goals and two assists last season while Pioch had the most starts of any returning field player with 16 last year. Jolly started every game in goal for the Bears last year while Everett and Dechar combined for 21 starts.
 
30 FOR ONSTEAD
Shellie Onstead is in her 30th season as the Donna Fong Director of Field Hockey. Onstead has a career record of 299-232 and has guided the Bears to 12 conference championships. She is a six-time NorPac Coach of the Year and has led Cal to six NCAA Tournament appearances. Onstead served as an assistant coach for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team and was inducted into the Cal Athletics Hall of Fame in 1982. Onstead played at Cal from 1980-82 and was the program's first All-America player.