After more than a week off, the California field hockey team resumes ACC play with a pair of home games against Boston College and No. 5 Syracuse this weekend at Underhill Field. The Golden Bears are coming off a split weekend in which they had a 2-0 lead against No. 3 Virginia but fell 3-2 before bouncing back with a decisive 4-1 victory over UC Davis.
 
Cal is 0-6 in the all-time series against Boston College. In their first matchup as ACC opponents last year, the then-No. 10 Eagles defeated the Bears 4-0 in Boston on Oct. 11.
 
Cal has a 1-6 all-time record against Syracuse with the Bears' sole win against the Orange coming in a 3-1 victory at home on Sept. 5, 2005. In last year's matchup Syracuse edged Cal 2-1 in overtime.
 
A win against Syracuse would be Cal's first ranked win since beating then-No. 5 Penn State 3-2 in overtime on Sept. 1, 2023.
 
Last Time Out

• In the game against the Cavaliers, Olivia Sharratt and Liz Klompmaker each scored goals in the first period to put the Bears up 2-0 early in the match.

 

• The two Cal scores were the most given up by Virginia so far this season and the 11 shots given up were the second most.

 

• In the game against the Aggies, Sharratt and Zara Schmitt had their first multi-goal games with a pair of scores each.

 
2025 Team Notes
 

• Klompmaker has registered at least one goal in five of the last six games and has now scored a career-high three goals in two games this season (Delaware, Ohio). She ranks fifth nationally and second in the conference with 10 goals on the season.

 

• 11 different Bears have registered at least one assist on Cal's 27 goals this season. Schalk leads the team with five, which ranks seventh in the ACC.

 

• Cal has had 20+ shots in three games already after having just three such games last season and in four in 2023.

 

• Against three ranked teams (Harvard, North Carolina and Duke) Cal is averaging 4.7 saves per game.

 

• The Bears have been a tough out at home this year. The only losses have come to ranked opponents (No. 10 Harvard, No. 3 Virginia) in one-score games.

 

• Two of the five freshmen on the team have scored goals this season: Josefina Moyano (2) and Agustina Daud (1).

 

• Three Bears have had multi-goal games this season: Klompmaker (2), Schmitz (1) and Sharratt (1).

 

• Cal ranks fourth in the country in penalty corner conversion percentage converting on 9 of 35 attempts (25.7%).

 
2024 Recap
The California field hockey team finished its inaugural season as a member of the ACC with an overall record of 7-10 after a 6-1 start. The Golden Bears were featured in the Penn Monto/NFHCA DI National Coaches Poll three times throughout the season, marking their first appearance in the rankings since 2018.
 
The Bears advanced to the ACC Championship for the first time in program history and fell 5-0 in the first round to North Carolina, which captured the 2024 ACC Championship. The Donna Fong Director of Field Hockey, Shellie Onstead, secured her 300th career win in a 2-1 regular-season victory against Louisville, which also gave the program its first-ever ACC matchup win.
 
The Bears were led by ACC Freshman of the Year Liz Klompmaker, who led the team in points (31), goals (15) and game-winning goals (5). Klompmaker registered at least two goals in six games during the 2024 campaign. Canisha van Duyn made an immediate impact in her lone season at Cal, leading the Bears in assists (11) and defensive saves (7) while ranking second on the team in points (17). Both Klompmaker and van Duyn were named to the NFHCA All-Region and All-ACC Teams.
 
300 wins
Onstead is now one of just eight active head coaches in the country to have reached the 300-win club. She is also one of just 23 all-time head coaches to reach the milestone.
 
Fresh Faces
The Golden Bears welcome 11 new players to this year's roster, which includes six freshmen and five transfers. Highlighting this year's newcomers are freshman Emma Becker and graduate transfer Lieve Schalk. Becker was a standout for her club team, the Dusseldorfer Hockey Club, while Schalk was a full-time starter at Iowa and helped the Hawkeyes earn three-straight NCAA Tournament bids from 2021-23.
 
Returning Experience
Cal will have plenty of experience coming back as it returns six full-time starters from last season highlighted by Klompmaker, who was named to the Preseason All-ACC Team. Also expected to make an impact is goalkeeper Delphine Ayitey-Hammond, who missed last year due to injury but helped the Suribton Hockey Club win the 2024 EuroHockey Club Championship prior to coming to Cal.
 
About The Boston College Eagles
Boston College currently sits at 4-6 overall with a 0-3 record in ACC play. The Eagles are coming off a 3-2 win over Northeastern before making their West Coast trip. Boston College features two players named to the NHFCA All-American First team in graduate midfielder Yani Zhong and junior midfielder Eva Kluskens.
 
About The Syracuse Orange
Syracuse is 9-2 overall (1-2 ACC) and boasts wins over five top 25 teams this season. The Orange are led by six players on the NHFCA Preseason Watchlist in graduate student Bo van Kempen, senior Lieke Leeggangers, junior Bo Madden, and freshmen Taylor Bigbie, Henni Nation, and Aubrey Turner. Van Kempen was also named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 2 after scoring nine goals in two games against Lock Haven and Fairfield.
 
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