Bears Beat Brown, 2-1

BERKELEY - Anne Van Hoof and Rachel Buttinger found the back of the cage, propelling the California field hockey team over Brown, 2-1, Friday night at Underhill Field.

The Golden Bears improved to 4-2 on the year. 

Van Hoof scored first in the opening quarter. She slipped past a defender with a clear path to the cage and slapped a shot past the Brown goalie. 

After Brown tied it in the second quarter on a penalty corner, Buttinger tallied the game winner in the third quarter. She collected a rebound off a shot by Van Hoof and put it in.

Van Hoof paced Cal with four shots, three on goal. 

"Anne provides a lot of support to the attack, to the point that sometimes I'm telling her not to do it so much," said the Donna Fong Director of Field Hockey Shellie Onstead. "She's a force when she gets up into the circle, and it's great to have her there to be able to do it."

Lyndsay Swanston got the start in goal and made two saves with her complete-game win.  

"The goal she let in was just nerves, but then she got going," Onstead said. "Lyndsay is filling a role here and stepping in because Cato's grandfather passed away. Lyndsay has been fantastic and she was ready, looking forward to Sunday."

Cal out shot Brown, 13-6, once again dominating offensive pressure throughout the match as the Bears have done in three of their last four contests. 

Cal dedicated tonight's game to Zoë Rogers, the Bears' teammate who tragically and unexpectedly passed away last fall. There was a brief ceremony and a 91-second moment of silence to honor their teammate. 

"It's still an emotional time, and I was concerned it might affect them a little bit," Onstead said. "They handled it really well. It's ok to be emotional, it's ok to continue grieving and it's ok to continue honoring her."

The Bears return to Underhill Sunday afternoon to battle No. 4 Northwestern at noon.