Bears Bash Towson, 4-1

TOWSON, MD. - The California field hockey team kept the offensive pressure going from last weekend and defeated Towson, 4-1, Friday afternoon on the Towson campus. 

The Golden Bears improved to 3-1 on the year. 

"It was great," said the Donna Fong Director of Field Hockey Shellie Onstead. "We had been underperforming on corners, so it was good to get those going today. Our players are starting to get used to each other, and we're doing a better job of connecting. It's a good sign of growth. We talked about having more control of the tempo and being able to dictate it better. I think that showed today."

Two Bears recorded their first goals of the season on Friday - Jane Onners and Rachel Buttinger - while Anne Van Hoof scored twice. They were her second and third goals of the campaign, both coming in the second half. 

Onners got the Bears on the board first in the first quarter. The junior found the back of a cage with her shot off of a corner. Kiki de Bruijne and Brynn Zorilla earned assists on the tally. 

Buttinger put the Bears up by two in the second quarter before Van Hoof scored in the third and the fourth quarter. Zorilla and de Bruijne each garnered their second assists of the day on Van Hoof's second goal. 

Zorilla was tabbed the team's player of the game for her efforts offensively and defensively. She was the only Bear never to come off the field. 

After out shooting Dartmouth, 19-1, last Sunday, Cal kept its pedal to the medal on Friday, amassing 22 shots to Towson's eight. The Bears also put 18 of their shots on goal to five by Towson. The Bears also doubled the Tigers up in corners, 8-4, scoring on three of those eight attempts.  

Van Hoof paced Cal with eight shots, five on goal, while Maddie Cleat garnered four shots on goal. 

Cato Knipping earned the win, boasting a scoreless first half. Lyndsay Swanston entered the match after halftime. Knipping made a season-best three saves with no goals allowed in the first half, while Swanston recorded one save in the third quarter. 

Cal heads to No. 7 Maryland on Sunday at 11 a.m. PT.