Another heartbreak: Maine edges Cal 4-3 in double OT of America East tourney 1st round

Maybe killer instinct is a real thing in sports. Maybe situational play is something that will be improved by the California Golden Bears in the offseason.

Against another ranked opponent, Golden Bears once again showed that they were just as good...only to be edged in OT. Maine beats Cal 4-3 in double OT, with a golden goal just when the Cal Bears earned a woman advantage for the remainder of OT.

Cal had a 3-2 lead for the bulk of the 2nd half but also had some near misses to push the lead to 2. Instead, Maine got an equalizer with 3.5 minutes to go and ended up being the aggressors the rest of the way.

I am too disappointed now to look up whether there are some extra consolation matches, but the season is effectively over now. Cal Field Hockey finishes the year with a very deceiving 5-12 record. Bears actually earned a No.25 ranking early in the year and played everyone not in the top 5 close. This is certainly a season of moral victories, if that’s ever a thing. It is up to head coach Shellie Onstead and her squad to build on this year’s heartbreaks.

ROLL ON YOU BEARS!

While it is not probable, it is certainly plausible for the very battle tested California Golden Bears Field Hockey to run the table this weekend from relatively friendly confines of Stanford. Rather than having to travel all the way to the East Coast, the Golden Bears will hope that they get a boost against their East Coast opponent Maine Black Bears by playing in the Bay Area from just 90 minutes away.

Despite a 5-11 overall record, Cal Field Hockey has shown a lot of promise. Playing a lot of ranked opponents, Bears have come agonizingly close to pulling off upsets. Yes, the Bears are 0-9 against ranked teams (and the other two losses come against Pacific), but those losses are mostly by just one-two goals (except for the ones against top 5 Maryland and North Carolina).

With 13 goals and 3 assists, forward Megan Rodgers is having another prolific season for the Bears. She and senior Melina Moore (4 goals) just entered the top 10 of Cal’s all-time goal scoring list this season. Rodgers earned All-Conference honor along with senior Janaye Sakkas.

Bears also got a pair of freshman honors showing that the program is in good health, now a couple of years removed from the debacle of not having a home within Berkeley (after Cal Athletics turned their previous home, Maxwell field, into a Football practice field). Yvie Lock and Brynn Zorilla (both listed as midfielders) also earned conference honors.

The Golden Bears will face off first against the Maine Black Bears (14-4) on Friday. Cal finished 3rd in the western division (being swept in close matches by Stanford and Pacific, while sweeping UC Davis). Maine is 2nd in the eastern division (5-3 in conference play). Should the Bears get past Maine (last year’s campaign for the Golden Bears ended in the first round loss to Albany), Stanford will be waiting next. Bears fought the ranked Stanford hard in two close losses this year.

In what may be the last year of the four California schools being in the America East, Cal is still seeking their first conference title. Bears last won the automatic bid back in 2011, when the 4 Field Hockey programs were a part of the NorPac conference.

First Round: Cal vs. Maine

Where: Varsity Turf (Stanford, CA)

When: Noon PT

Online Stream: AmericaEast.TV

What is at stake: Winner gets to play host Stanford at noon PT on Saturday.

GO (GOLDEN) BEARS!