Aug. 21, 2012

BERKELEY -

Weekly Release In PDF Format

The California field hockey team will begin the 2012 season at home, playing defending national champion No. 1 Maryland on Friday, Aug. 24 at 5 p.m. The Golden Bears will follow up with two more home matches against Saint Louis on Monday, Aug. 27 at 1 p.m. and No. 20 Northwestern on Friday, Aug 31 at 2 p.m. The Maryland and Northwestern games will be California's first-ever televised matches. Both will be shown on the Pac-12 Networks.

To find what channel you can see the game on, click here.

To watch the event live on your computer, click here.

Super Seniors Cal will be anchored this season by six seniors. Forwards Rachelle Comeau, Claire Dougherty, and Lauren Livingston will be joined by midfielder Kendra Bills and defenders Deanna Kennedy and Lauren Spellman. Between them, they've played in 323 games, scored 34 goals, and logged 53 assists during their careers at Cal.

Kennedy in the Record Books Senior Deanna Kennedy led the team last season with 12 assists, tying for the sixth highest single-season total in Cal history. She was also ranked No. 21 in the nation in assists per game (.6). Kennedy, in her three seasons with the Bears, is tied for fourth for career assists with 33. She is only three assists shy of the all-time Cal career leader, Rachel Moffitt.

Canadian National Team Junior Shannon Elmitt spent her summer training with the Canadian Junior National Team. She has been a member of Canadian National Teams since 2008. The midfielder was a standout for the Bears last season, starting all 20 games. She fnished second on the team with 11 assists, which tied her for 8th with 18 career assists list with her coach, Shellie Onstead. Her performance earned her a selection to the NorPac West All-Conference team as well as All-West Region second team honors.

Golden Accolades Junior Andrea Earle became the 11th player in Cal Field Hockey history to earn All-American honors. She was named to the 2011 Longstreth/ NFHCA Division I All-American Third Team. Earle was second in the NorPac Conference in goals per game (.80, 24th in the NCAA) and points per game (1.85, 31st NCAA). She was also named to the All-West Region first team as well asNorPac West Offensive Player of the Year and the NorPac West co-Player of the Year. Joining her on the All-West Region second team were Sophomore Lara Kruggel and Shannon Elmitt. Furthermore, Kruggel was named the NorPac West Rookie of the Year after twice being named Newcomer of the Week in the 2011 season.

Opening Strong The Golden Bears are 7-3 in their season-openers in the last ten years. The six wins include a trio over ranked teams including last year's 3-1 victory over No. 16 Louisville, a 3-2 victory over No. 8 Iowa in 2002, and a 4-3 victory decided on penalty shots over No. 6 American in 2006.

In The NFHCA Rankings California was ranked No. 16 in the 2012 Penn Monto / NFHCA Division I Preseason Poll. This is the first time Cal has been ranked in the preseason poll.

A Golden Olympics For The Golden Bears A total of 46 Golden Bear athletes, coaches and staff members represented Cal during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and together, they brought home a school-record-tying 17 medals (11 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze). The Bears have won 50 medals over the past three Olympics (16 in 2004, 17 in 2008, 17 in 2012), and they have captured 178 medals all-time (99 gold).

Cal No. 1 Public University in the Country The University of California is the No. 1-ranked public university in the United States, according to U.S. News and World Report. The faculty has won 22 Nobel Prizes, including nine current members, while 28 alumni have received a Nobel Prize. A National Research Council analysis of U.S. universities concluded that the campus has the largest number of highly ranked graduate programs in the country (48 of 52). Cal also has a long commitment to public service, with more than 4,000 students annually doing volunteer work and more than 3,000 Peace Corps participants all-time.

Exhibition Action The Bears won their only exhibition match this season, downing the UC Davis Aggies, 4-2.