DAVIS, Calif. — Coming off a 2-1 overtime victory over Central Michigan and a hard-fought battle against UMass Lowell, UC Davis continues its home slate at the Aggie Field Hockey Facility this weekend. The Aggies host Columbia on Friday, Sept. 4, before facing Bellarmine on Sunday, Sept. 6, with both games starting at 12:00 p.m. PT.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN/FOLLOW
Sep. 4  — vs Columbia | Live Stats | Live Stream | @ucdavisfh (X/Instagram)
Sep. 6  — vs Bellarmine | Live Stats | Live Stream | @ucdavisfh (X/Instagram)

GAME NOTES

• UC Davis enters the week with a 1-1 record following a 2-1 overtime victory against Central Michigan and a hard-fought loss to UMass Lowell.
• Senior midfielder Morgan Caldera was named MPSF Offensive Player of the Week after scoring both goals in the season-opening victory over Central Michigan, including the game-winner just 73 seconds into extra time. The award marks the second MPSF weekly honor of her career.
• Against UMass Lowell, sophomore Cosi Karleski netted her first career goal for the Aggies, assisted by senior Ella Franken, who registered her first assist of the 2026 campaign.
• Top Goal Scorers: Caldera currently leads the Aggies on attack to open the season, pacing the squad with two goals and four points while maintaining a perfect 1.000 shooting percentage.
• Preseason Nods: For the first time since 2023, UC Davis landed two student-athletes on the prestigious NFHCA Division I Collegiate Watchlist, with senior midfielders Morgan Caldera and Ella Franken earning national honors. The distinction places Caldera and Franken among elite collegiate talent across the nation with high potential for NFHCA All-Region and All-American consideration during the 2026 campaign. 
• 2025 Recap: UC Davis finished the 2025 season 0-1 in conference play and 16-10 overall, earning a runner-up finish in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) following a hard-fought 2-1 battle against Delaware in the championship game. 

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS

• The Columbia Lions kick off their 2026 campaign in Davis following a 7-8 overall finish and a 1-6 record in Ivy League play last season.
• The Lions' attack centers around junior forward Jacinta Solari Etcheberry, who started all 15 games last fall while pacing the team with six goals and five assists.
• Between the pipes, Columbia relies on primary junior goalkeeper Margot Houle, who logged over 890 minutes and recorded 103 saves across 15 starts in 2025.
• Friday's match will be the first-ever meeting between UC Davis and Columbia.
• The Bellarmine Knights head west sitting at 0-2 on the year after most recently dropping a 2-0 decision to Ohio State last weekend.
• Sophomore Amy Stripling sparks the Knights' offense with a team-high five shots, alongside junior returner Anouk Richters, who recorded two goals and three assists last season.
• In goal, junior keeper Megan Clauser anchors the backline, having accumulated 13 saves through her first two starts.
• The Aggies look to stay perfect in the series after securing a 2-1 road victory against the Knights in Louisville last season.

SEASON NOTES

• 2026 marks the fifth season for head coach Austin Pile, the reigning 2025 MPSF Coach of the Year.
• Pile is joined on the sidelines by former assistant coach Rachel Stauffer, who enters her sixth season on staff after being promoted to Associate Head Coach heading into the 2026 campaign. 
• Rounding out the coaching staff is new assistant coach Jordan Carr, who brings her talents to Davis for her first season with the Aggies.
• The roster brings back a large number of other contributors from last season, including Aidan Claeys (So.), Molly Main (Sr.), Sutton Van Dyk (So.), Claire Anderson (So.), Emma Wood (So.), Katie Kim (Sr.), Mia Edwards (Sr.), Oona Buckley (Jr.), Larissa Roldan (Jr.), Elle Louise Kocmond (Jr.), Linnea Liljenstrand-Mjoen (So.), Jamie Dempsey (Jr.), Cosi Karleski (So.), Clare Torres (So.), and Addy Collingwood (So.).
• Additionally, the coaching staff brings in a highly talented group of incoming freshmen, including Clara Bruns, Charlotte Connally, Addie Goldstein, Tristen Stanimir, and Catalina Stefanich.
• UC Davis enters the 2026 campaign in its second season as a founding member of the MPSF field hockey conference. Heading into 2026, the league has expanded with the addition of Queens University of Charlotte as its third team, aiming to build on its early momentum and bring further collegiate competition to the West Coast in the near future.

ABOUT UC DAVIS ATHLETICS: 
UC Davis, the No. 2 ranked public university by the Wall Street Journal, is home to 40,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 employees. Ranked No. 1 in Agriculture and Forestry as well as No. 1 in Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis is located in a true California college town nestled between world-class destinations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe. Over 650 Aggie student-athletes compete in 25 Division I varsity sports, with 16 sports transitioning to the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026–27. 

For more information, visit https://ucdavisaggies.com/.