STANFORD, Calif. -- Age was not a factor Sunday as California's freshmen shined in field hockey's 7-2 victory over Bryant. The Golden Bear youngsters combined for six of Cal's seven goals for the win at Stanford's Varsity Turf. Cal improves to 1-1 on the season.
The victory marked the first game Cal scored seven or more goals since Sept. 3, 2011, when the Bears defeated Pacific 10-0.
Freshmen Janaye Sakkas and Bella Forbes turned in a pair of four-point games, as Sakkas notched two goals and Forbes added a goal on two assists for the day. Redshirt freshman Maddie Ashbrook and true freshmen Melina Moore and Marie Lanckneus also added goals.
“It's a good sign that they were able to really contribute,” said head coach Shellie Onstead. “It's just great for the whole team. It's awesome.”
Cal's veterans didn't hesitate to get into the action either, as junior Nicole Henriksson scored her second goal in as many games and junior Sydney Earle, sophomore Paula Seibt and senior Clara Goni registered assists.
Bryant's Victoria Danby scored both goals for the Bulldogs.
After getting off to a sluggish start against fifth-ranked Duke on Friday, the Bears were determined to open their second game with more firepower. Their response came 17 minutes in when Sakkas took a shot into the right corner.
Danby equalized on a penalty corner at 28:06, but the Bears were quick to fight back as Henriksson added a goal for the second consecutive game 30 seconds later and gave Cal a 2-1 lead.
The Blue and Gold would add an insurance goal before the half when Lanckneus took a penalty corner played in by Seibt to Forbes and sent it through the legs of the Bulldog defense, pushing Cal's lead to 3-1.
At halftime, the Bears had outshot the Bulldogs 8-3.
“We were collectively disappointed in the first half of Friday, which was just awful jitters, and really happy with the way they came out in the second half. The goal today was to build on that, and I was pleased that they did that,” Onstead said.
Bryant staged another run at the cage early in the second half, and once again Danby upped her squad's score at 40:46. That was all it took to spark Cal's second-half offense, as Sakkas struck with her second goal of the day before her fellow freshmen Ashbrook, Forbes and Moore all joined in.
Cal goalie Kori Griswold earned on save in her complete-game performance, improving to 1-1 in the cage.
On opening-weekend performance:
I'm satisfied with the split. I knew Friday (against No. 5 Duke) might be a tall order with so many young players. We were collectively disappointed in the first half of Friday, which was just awful jitters, and really happy with the way they came out in the second half. The goal today was to build on that, and I was pleased that they did that.
On performances of freshmen:
It's a good sign that they were able to really contribute. It's just great for the whole team. It's awesome.
On Cal's defense and having a new starting goalie:
We didn't have a key center player. We played Monica (Marrazzo) for about two five-minute shifts, so there were a lot of people playing out of position today. We played forwards as mids and attacking players as defending players, and I acknowledged the team for that because they had to figure it out on the fly.
Golden Bear Goals
17:09 – Janaye Sakkas (assisted by Sydney Earle)
Sakkas says: I received it and took a reverse shot into the right corner.
28:37 – Nicole Henriksson (assisted by Bella Forbes)
Henriksson says: Lexi Collins crossed a great ball into the circle. Clari Goni and I had two great chances at tipping it in. However, it got past us and Bella Forbes collected it, sent it across cage to back post where I was able to redirect the ball into the cage!
32:04 – Marie Lanckneus (assisted by Paula Seibt and Bella Forbes)
Lanckneus says: I was only a couple minutes on the field, but when we had a corner, I flicked it with a dragflick low right, through the legs of the line stop.
44:32 – Janaye Sakkas (assisted by Clara Goni)
Sakkas says: Clari dribbled into the circle and passed it to me, I turned and shot it between the goalie's legs.
52:13 – Maddie Ashbrook
Ashbrook says: I received a ball from Clari on my weak side and then pulled it to my strong side. I hit it and it went in between the goalie's legs.
60:29 – Bella Forbes
Forbes says: I pretty much was looking to cross the ball on the baseline and a Bryant girl got a touch on it and it deflected in!
64:11 – Melina Moore
Moore says: I received a pass near the top of the circle and swept the ball to the cage.
Bryant's Goals
28:06 – Victoria Danby (assisted by Mikayla Fitzmaurice, Erin Karcher)
40:46 – Victoria Danby (assisted by Nicole Plante)
News & Notes
The game marked the first time the Bears have scored seven or more goals since Sept. 3, 2011, when Cal defeated Pacific 10-0.
The last time Cal scored five or more goals was Sept. 19, 2014 against UC Davis.
Cal is now 2-0 all-time against Bryant.
Next Up
Cal gears up for a three-game stretch in Davis, Calif. as the Bears host a tournament featuring Louisville, Saint Louis and Indiana over Labor Day weekend. The action begins Friday, Sept. 4 at noon with Louisville. Cal will face Saint Louis on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Indiana on Monday at noon.
