By Shawn Liu, Daily Cal Contributing Writer
This story was originally published in the Daily Californian on Monday, April 30, 2008.
Click here for original version.
Reprinted by permission.
It was a chilly Saturday afternoon in late February. The Cal lacrosse team was playing its second home game of 2008 at a gusty Memorial Stadium. Stanford had just scored three straight times to take a two-goal lead early in the second half.
Despite the juicy matchup, the dismal weather had produced the lowest attendance of the season. After intermission, most of the 87 people in the stands were running for cover as rain fell heavier by the minute.
The rain, however, did not extinguish the "Go! Bears!" chants coming from the south side bleachers.
Members of the Cal field hockey team, who have been present at every lacrosse home game this year, continued the cheering and saw the Bears come back late in the second period to win the game 11-9.
"They came back. Last year, they couldn't have done that," junior Ashley Glosz said. "They have the confidence. I am really excited this year for them."
The field hockey team's second-leading scorer last season shared the enthusiasm with her teammates, who also saw lacrosse players attending field hockey home games regularly at Maxwell Family Field in the fall.
Sharing the same training facilities and weight trainer, the Cal field hockey team and lacrosse team are traditionally close with each other.
The friendship, however, reached a new level with the freshman class three years ago.
After living close to each other in the dorms, the players, who are now juniors, developed an instant bond and decided to room together for the rest of their college years.
Both teams have six juniors on the rosters this year. Two addresses have housed these 12 athletes since two years ago. Each house consists of three field hockey players and three lacrosse players.
"We met each other and got along," says attacker Madeleine Dale of the lacrosse team. "We enjoy the same things. We are the same kind of people. We were like, 'Let's get a house together.' It's been awesome ever since."
When on the road, the juniors call their roommates from the other team after each game. The lacrosse team has shared a lot of excitement on the phone this season as they won a program record five straight road games in the regular season.
"It's good to have people playing a similar sport, having a similar day-to-day regime, but not on your team," says Dale. "Sometimes, you get stressed with your team or your coach. It's nice to have someone to talk to that didn't go through the same thing."
Coaches also acknowledge the positive impact of the friendship.
"I think it's a really special thing that two teams have been taking care of each other," says first-year lacrosse coach Theresa Sherry.
Sherry and her rookie coaching staff share the same office with field hockey coach Shellie Onstead and her assistants.
"There is a lot of support between our coaching staffs as well," says Sherry. "We actually have a lot of fun. Shellie has been a great mentor for me."
The sisterhood of the junior class has spread to all members of the two teams. The bond is most visible on game days.
Attending games with horns, painted faces or hand-made signs, the players are always the loudest and the most animated among the supporters in the stands.
"We know what it's like to bust your tail off," says Dale. "We all work hard. We all go through the same thing. We want to go out and get them just as juiced as we would want when we play."
The cheering power of the field hockey team will be in full force this weekend as the lacrosse team (9-7, 4-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) hosts the conference tournament-which starts today at Memorial Stadium-as the No. 2 seed with a bye in the first round.
"I like their chances," says Glosz, who predicted a conference championship for her roommates, which would be a first for the team since 2004. "I think they are the best in the conference. They are on the way up. I don't think they have peaked yet."
Aside from being thoughtful friends and supporters, the players also enjoy playing each other's sports just for fun.
When field hockey players gather for pickup games on Fridays in their offseason, the lacrosse players often join them.
"You think that because we play lacrosse, we have good hand-eye coordination, but it does not translate," says Dale. "It's really funny to take my roommates out to play lacrosse, too. When we pass them the ball, they will just hit it instead of catching it. It's hilarious."
One other distinctive difference between the two teams is the number of trips to the NCAA tournament.
The field hockey team has made it to the tournament twice in the last four years. The lacrosse team has not yet gone to the NCAAs in its 10 years of existence.
With no automatic bid awarded to the MPSF champions, it's likely that Cal lacrosse will not get a chance to make history this year.
"They know that we want to go to NCAAs. We see them going. It sucks," says Dale. "We just get jealous. They don't have to say anything. Next year. Next year we are going to go."
