BERKELEY – The 2015 California field hockey schedule has been released for a season that begins a new era as the members of the America East Conference, and the Bears also return home this year with nine games scheduled to take place in Berkeley.
A total of five NCAA Tournament teams highlight the schedule, including reigning NCAA Champion Connecticut as well as quarterfinalists Duke, Stanford and Penn State in addition to first round participant Louisville. The Bears will play a total of six games against these teams with three at home and three on the road.
A five-game homestand starts the 2015 campaign beginning with a challenging test in NCAA quarterfinalist Duke who visits Berkeley in Cal’s season opener on Friday, Aug. 28 at 6 p.m. Bryant (Aug. 30), Louisville (Sept. 4), St. Louis (Sept. 5) and Indiana (Sept. 7) close out the season-opening homestand.
The first road trip of the season has the Bears traveling to University Park, Pa., to play Penn State and Bucknell at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex. The Bears will face the Lions on Sept. 11 before taking on the Bison two days later at the same field. Bucknell advanced to the Patriot League Championship game last season with a 13-6 record, falling one game short of earning an NCAA Championships berth.
The three-week road swing also includes another trip to the Northeast from Sept. 25-27 with games against Brown and UConn. The Huskies will host the Bears on Sunday, Sept. 27 at 12 p.m. as Cal looks to earn a road victory against the two-time defending national champions.
California has three final non-conference games towards the end of the season when UMASS-Lowell comes to Berkeley on Oct. 10 before the Bears travel to Ohio State two weeks later for games against the Buckeyes and Kent State.
After 33 seasons in the NorPac, California joins Stanford, UC Davis and Pacific as affiliate members in the America East Conference. The Bears will play all three teams twice in conference play starting with a visit to Stanford to open conference play on Sept. 18 on the Pac-12 Networks. The return trip in Berkeley is scheduled for Sunday, October 18 at 1 p.m. Cal will also host UC Davis on October 4 and Pacific on October 28.
The America East Championships will be hosted by the University of Albany at Alumni Field from Nov. 5-8.
