No. 10 Liberty Beats Bears, 3-0

BERKELEY - Three first-half goals propelled No. 10 Liberty past the California field hockey team, 3-0, Sunday afternoon at Underhill Field. The Golden Bears fell to 1-1 on the year. 

The Flames tallied two goals in the final two minutes of the first quarter, and added one more in the second quarter. 

"I was watching their last few games from last year and I watched the UC Davis game. They're a high-quality team," said the Donna Fong Director of Field Hockey Shellie Onstead. "We knew we were in for a fight today, and I think we learned a ton. We learned something about how we need to train and put ourselves under some more pressure when we train."

Cal hung tough despite trailing early, and the Bears shifted momentum in the second half.

After registering only one shot in the first half, the Bears posted three shots in the third quarter and two in the fourth. Cal's best opportunity to score came in the fourth quarter when Kaiden Stanley and Rachel Buttinger slapped back-to-back shots that were both stopped by the Liberty goalie. 

Prior to that scoring opportunity, Cal produced four penalty corners in the third quarter.

Defensively, the Bears clamped down in the second half, only allowing two Flames' shots. 

"In the second half, we had a lot better possession and our press was working well," Onstead said. "Our out-letting is good, we just need to take care of the ball on each end of the field." 

Buttinger and Anne Van Hoof each tallied two shots, while Maddie Cleat notched one, as well. 

Cal hosts Dartmouth next Sunday at 11 a.m. from Underhill.