Field Hockey Completes Gold Coast Sweep With 4-0 Shutout Of Cal

Sunday, September 27

Berkeley, Calif.

4 PM ET

North Carolina

(5-4, 2-1)

Cal

(5-3, 0-2)

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
North Carolina	1	0	1	2	4
California	0	0	0	0	0

Reese Anetsberger & Charly Bruder celebrate at Cal

Field Hockey Completes Gold Coast Sweep With 4-0 Shutout Of Cal

September 27, 2026 | Field Hockey

Box Score

By: William Soulé

BERKELEY, Calif. – Carolina field hockey finished off a two-win weekend with a dominant 4-0 victory over No. 17 Cal on Sunday afternoon at Underhill Field.

The Tar Heels (5-4, 2-1 ACC) put together one of their most complete games of the season thanks to a suffocating defense and goals from four different players. Head coach Erin Matson's squad did not allow a singular shot on goal for the first time since last year's win over Louisville (10/12/25).

The pair of wins out west pushed UNC above .500 in the win column for the first time this season. Carolina extended their cumulative win streak against their two California conference foes to 28 straight.

"Overall throughout the weekend we faced some really good teams, really good competition and we're proud of our Heels for keeping their heads down and continuing to grow," said Matson. "Have to call out our team defense today. It has been a goal of ours and I think we did a really good job on that end this weekend."

That team defense was especially effective on Sunday as captain Grace Pottebaum led her unit to a shutout with season lows in shots faced (1), shots on goal allowed (0), and corners faced (0). It was a welcome sight for team that entered the weekend last in the ACC in goals against average.

Carolina got the scoring started in the first quarter with a coast-to-coast goal that started with a defensive stop and was finished off by a near post strike from Ryleigh Heck. The recently returned forward has wasted no time making an impact, scoring three goals in her first two games back in Carolina Blue.

The flood gates fully broke open in the second half when the Heels would add three more to finish with the 4-0 total. Less than a minute after the break, another classic Carolina field hockey passing sequence found Reese Anetsberger on the end line and the sophomore did the rest. Some nifty stick skills got her past two Cal defenders before she snuck it past Carine Van Weichen in goal.

The game's final two goals were created off penalty corner routines by another recent returnee in Sietske Brüning. In addition to her great defensive work on the day, the veteran set up freshman Sofia Ferri for the Heel's third goal before persistence at the top of the circle produced her team's fourth. It was the most points in a game for Brüning since 2024.

Ferri, who plays as a primarily defensive midfielder, continues to find ways to contribute on the offensive end. She's up to five goals on the year.

The Tar Heels will continue on their road stretch next weekend with a Friday afternoon showdown against No. 12 Louisville at 3 p.m. ET in Trager Stadium, the host site for the 2026 NCAA Field Hockey Final Four and Championship games.