No. 17 Cal Downed By North Carolina

Sunday, September 27

1:00 PM PT

California

(5-3, 0-2)

North Carolina

(5-4, 2-1)

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
North Carolina	1	0	1	2	4
California	0	0	0	0	0

Bears close out ACC home opener weekend

Photo by: ANDREW MADSEN

9/27/2026 5:18 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score Box Score

Van Wiechen Records Nine Saves As Cal Battles Until Final Whistle

By: Cal Athletics

The No. 17 California field hockey team fell to North Carolina (5-4, 2-1 ACC), 4-0, Sunday afternoon to close out its ACC home-opening weekend. The Golden Bears are now 0-2 in ACC play and 5-3 overall.

The game remained scoreless through the first eight minutes before North Carolina's Ryleigh Heck found the back of the net at 8:51 to give the Tar Heels a 1-0 advantage. Cal's defense held strong for the remainder of the quarter, allowing just one additional shot.

The Bears nearly evened the score midway through the second quarter after working their way into the North Carolina circle, but Maria Scocco's shot went wide. Cal continued to apply defensive pressure, limiting the Tar Heels to two shots in the quarter. Carine Van Wiechen recorded saves on both attempts to keep the deficit at one heading into halftime.

North Carolina came out quickly in the second half, as Reese Anetsberger scored an unassisted goal less than a minute into the third quarter to make it 2-0.

With 6:46 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Tar Heels earned a penalty corner. Sietske Brüning received the ball at the top of the circle and sent it toward the right post, where Sofia Ferri tipped it just inside to extend the lead to 3-0. Two minutes later, Brüning took the initial shot on another penalty corner, but Mia DiGiulio blocked the attempt. Brüning regained possession and found the back of the cage to make it 4-0.

Cal's defense continued to battle until the final whistle, denying North Carolina on its final two penalty-corner opportunities, but the Bears were unable to close the gap.

Van Wiechen tied her season best with nine saves in the matchup.

"UNC had more experience than us today, but we played hard and continue to improve each game," Donna Fong Director of Field Hockey Steve Danielson said.

UP NEXT
Cal heads to Virginia for a nonconference game against VCU before returning to ACC action against Virginia. The Bears take on the Rams on Oct. 2 before facing the Cavaliers on Oct. 4.

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