After playing a pair of road games to open ACC play against No. 2 North Carolina and No. 7 Duke last weekend, the California field hockey team returns to Underhill Field for another top 25 matchup against No. 3 Virginia on Friday at 6 p.m. PT before closing out the weekend against UC Davis on Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
Cal is 2-3 all-time against Virginia. The most recent matchup came in a 4-3 loss at Virginia on Sep. 20, 2024. In that game Liz Klompaker scored a pair of goals while Maya Hoepfner had one.
 
Cal is 32-7-1 all-time against UC Davis and has won eight in a row. Klompmaker and Hoepfner combined for five of the six goals scored against the Aggies in two meetings last season.
 
A win against the Cavaliers would be Cal's highest ranked win since beating then No. 5 Penn State, 3-2 (OT) on Sep. 1, 2023 and highest ranked win in program history.
 
Last Time Out
Cal is coming off one of a pair of road losses to open ACC play last weekend. The Golden Bears fell to No. 2 North Carolina, 5-1, before losing to No. 7 Duke 3-0.
 

• Klompmaker scored the lone goal for the Bears in the game against the Tarheels on the last of three straight penalty corner tries. Holly Pears and Lieve Schalk were credited with assists on the goal.
• Cal ended up with six penalty corners to North Carolina's seven.
• The Bears shutout the Blue Devils in the second half but were outshot 11-3. Duke totaled seven penalty corners but Cal defended all of them successfully.

 
2025 Trends

• Klompmaker has registered at least one goal in four of the last five games and has now had a career-high three goals in two games this season (Delaware, Ohio).

 

• 10 different Bears have registered at least one assist on Cal's 20 goals this season. Schalk leads the team with five which ranks sixth 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.

 
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 to the team 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 Virginia Cavaliers
Virginia is currently 6-0 and boasts an impressive five wins over top 25 opponents this season. The Cavaliers came in third in the most recent NFHCA Poll and feature Mia Abello and Suze Leemans who were both named to the All-ACC preseason team and the NHFCA preseason watchlist.
 
About The UC Davis Aggies
UC Davis is currently 4-4 and is coming off a 6-0 win against Long Island University. The Aggies are playing in their first season as part of the Mountain Pacific Sports Network after having competed in the America East Conference. This will be the first of two meetings between the UC Davis and Cal.
 
STAY POSTED
For coverage of Cal field hockey, please follow the Bears on X/Twitter (@CalFieldHockey), Instagram (@CalFieldHockey) and Facebook (/CalFH/).