Cal Hosts Dartmouth This Sunday

BERKELEY - After opening the season against back-to-back ranked opponents, the California field hockey team will stay in Berkeley for one contest this week. The Golden Bears will battle Dartmouth for the fourth time in program history on Sunday, Sept. 5, at 11 a.m. from Underhill Field.     
 
The Bears will play three of their next five matches at Underhill Field.  
 
Cal (1-1) kicked off the 2021 fall campaign last Friday with a 1-0 win over No. 25 Stanford on the Cardinal campus. The win over the Cardinal counted as a non-conference match. The Bears fell to No. 10 Liberty, 3-0, in the home opener two days later.
 
Four Bears have posted two shots each through two games - Maddie Cleat, Anne Van Hoof, Kaiden Stanley and Rachel Buttinger. Both of Stanley's shots were on goal.
 
Bears Sneak Past Stanford, 1-0
• In last Friday's season opener at Stanford, Maddie Cleat's third-quarter tally was the difference maker as Cal defeated No. 25 Stanford, 1-0. Megan Connors earned an assist on the goal. It was the first time the Bears defeated a ranked team since last beating No. 14 Stanford, 4-2, in 2017 on The Farm. Cato Knipping made two saves and earned her fourth career shutout. 
 
Bears All-Time Vs. Dartmouth
• The Bears have battled Dartmouth three times in the past, compiling a record of 2-1 vs. the Big Green. The most-recent contest went Cal's way in 2013, a 4-2 victory. The Bears also beat Dartmouth, 2-0, in 1986.
 
Van Hoof Adds Experience
• The Bears added two graduate transfers to the squad this season. One of them is Anne Van Hoof, who came to Berkeley after playing at Wake Forest. Van Hoof, a native of The Netherlands, has started both games this season, and she tallied two shots in the Bears' battle against No. 10 Liberty last Sunday. She adds a veteran presence in the backfield after Yvie Lock and Sara Deck graduated last spring.  
 
Cleat And Zorilla Lead Offense
• Maddie Cleat and Brynn Zorilla are Cal's top returning scorers from last spring, For the third straight season, Zorilla earned America East All-Conference First Team honors. She and Cleat tied as the team leaders in scoring with 10 points on four goals and two assists each. Cleat returns as a graduate student this fall with another year of eligibility given due to the Covid-19 pandemic. She scored Cal's lone goal of the season thus far.  

Cato In The Cage
• After defending the Cal goal for every minute last spring, Knipping earned her fourth career shutout in Cal's season-opening win at No. 25 Stanford. She entered the campaign with some momentum, as the Bears' junior keeper earned America East Defensive Player of the Week honors for the final weekend of the spring season after earning three wins in the final weekend, making a combined 19 saves and earning one shutout. She finished the spring campaign with a GAA of 1.68 and a save percentage of 0.768.
 
Smart Bears
• A program-record group of 23 Cal field hockey student-athletes honored with 2020 Zag Field Hockey/NFHCA Division I National Academic Squad laurels. Cato Knipping, Natalie Moore, Sara Stone and Kaiden Stanley were tabbed NFHCA Scholars of Distinction with Knipping earning the honor for the second straight year. Cal was also once again tabbed an NFHCA National Academic Squad. In addition, 22 Bears earned America East Honor Roll accolades, with 16 picking up AE Commissioner's Honor Roll stature (3.5 GPA or better). Earlier this week, Cal won the Newmark Award for the highest GPA (3.603) among Cal's large women's programs. 
 
Next Up
• Cal makes its first of four trips to the east coast next week. The Bears will face Towson on Friday, Sept. 10, at noon PT and Towson on Sunday, Sept. 12, at 11 a.m. PT.