SUNDAY, SEPT. 15
UC DAVIS (2-1) AT CAL (3-0) | 3 P.M. PT | UNDERHILL FIELD | BERKELEY, CALIF.
LIVE STREAM: ACCNX | LIVE STATS: CALBEARS.COM

BERKELEY - The California field hockey team will complete its season-opening four-game homestand against UC Davis on Sunday. The Golden Bears are coming off a commanding victory in their last game against Kent State. Coverage will be available on ACC Network Extra/ESPN+ and live stats on CalBears.com.

The Golden Bears are seeking to extend their winning streak to four games, which would mark their best start to a season since 2011 (5-0). Freshman standout Liz Klompmaker leads Cal in several statistical categories, including shots (16), points (9), shots on goal (9), goals (4), and game-winners (2).

The Bears hold an all-time record of 26-7-1 against UC Davis and have won the last six consecutive outings. In the previous meeting between the two teams, the Golden Bears came away with a dominating 7-0 shutout performance after holding the Aggies to only four shots on Oct. 21, 2023.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Bears earned a commanding 3-1 victory over Kent State to secure its third consecutive win. Freshman Liz Klompmaker scored the first goal for Cal early in the second quarter. Graduate student Canisha van Duyn buried her first goal of the season at the 39:03 mark, while sophomore Holly Pears put one through the net late in the game to boost Cal's lead. The Bears' defense held the Aggies scoreless until the final four minutes of action while recording six saves.
 
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 join 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 plays its first ACC game ever when it visits 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 enters her 30th season as the Donna Fong Director of Field Hockey. Onstead has a career record of 296-232 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.

ABOUT UC DAVIS
The Aggies are off to a 2-1 start this season after falling to Michigan State (4-3) in their season opener. UC Davis has won its last two outings, beginning with their come-from-behind victory against Northeastern (3-2), followed by their shutout performance against Kent State (2-0).
UC Davis trailed Northeastern 2-0 at the halfway mark before scoring all three goals in the second half, including two in the fourth quarter to secure the victory. Against Kent State, the Aggies recorded nine saves to secure a commanding win. UC Davis will face off against Stanford before Sunday's matchup.