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Syracuse’s 2-1 win over then-No. 18 California on Oct. 13, 2024, ended in fitting fashion: a Bo van Kempen penalty corner goal. Two minutes into overtime, the graduate student dragged the ball out of Cal goalie Tina Jolly’s reach for the win. It was her second tally of the game, giving the Orange their fourth straight victory.

Three hundred sixty-four days later, against the same opponent, van Kempen had multiple chances to recreate that magic. The Orange trailed the Golden Bears for the majority of their clash on Sunday but were one penalty corner away from tying the game.

As it’s been done all season, SU’s insertion unit consistently fed van Kempen on its penalty corner opportunities, hoping she’d knot things up.

But she didn’t. Despite van Kempen’s eight shots off penalty corners, none found the back of the net, as No. 5 Syracuse (10-3, 2-3 Atlantic Coast) fell 1-0 to California (6-5, 2-3 ACC). Cal’s Liz Klompmaker’s second-quarter goal proved to be the difference in Syracuse’s first road loss of the season, as the Orange wasted a whopping 14 penalty corners.

Off a Hattie Madden goal, SU struck first five minutes into its win over Stanford on Friday. It was one of many hot starts the Orange have had this season, headlined by their 15-0 triumph of Lock Haven on Aug. 29.

Yet despite Syracuse’s fast pace, it couldn’t recreate Friday’s strong start.

SU was gifted an early penalty corner five minutes in with an insert from Pati Strunk. She fed it to van Kempen, who was surrounded by a horde of Golden Bears and couldn’t find a clean look, resulting in a deflection.

After a series of intercepted passes, Cal earned its first penalty corner off a Syracuse foot foul. Emma Becker had a clean insertion, but Maya Hoepfner’s shot landed far wide and in the hands of Jessie Eiselin.

Despite the lack of early shots on goal, the Golden Bears’ ball movement was superb to begin the game. Their crisp passes had excellent precision, allowing them to march down the field at will and pressure Syracuse’s defense.

That strong passing eventually led to a goal. After initial traffic near the net, Klompmaker fired the ball into the right corner of the goal. It ricocheted off Eiselin’s glove and in to give Cal an early 1-0 advantage.

SU has scored first in all but two games this season. Even when it trailed early against Lafayette and then-No. 20 Penn State, it was still victorious.

Would the Orange rebound quickly like they did in those two games or fall flat?

It was mainly the latter Sunday. Syracuse began the second quarter playing sloppily, resulting in several careless turnovers.

Henni Nation drove into the scoring crease with a solid opportunity to tie the game at one. Instead, she lost control of the ball, and the Golden Bears raced the other way.

Following an Aubrey Turner steal, SU had a fast break and arguably its best scoring opportunity yet. Due to an interference, Syracuse was awarded a penalty corner 10 minutes into the quarter.

Both of Danique Schuurman’s shots were off after Strunk’s insertion, but SU was rewarded with another corner. Yet it was a similar result, as Schuurman was blocked again.

Syracuse had another shot at evening the score with 48 seconds until halftime, again on a penalty corner. This time, Lieke Leeggangers inserted the ball, but Delphine Ayitey-Hamm made a diving save on van Kempen’s shot.

In the second half, the Golden Bears began to chew clock and play a methodical brand of hockey. From short passes in its own territory to a lack of shots on goal, Cal was in no rush to add to its lead.

Instead, the Golden Bears’ main focus was containing an SU attack bound to find its footing.

Orange head coach Lynn Farquhar made numerous second-half substitutions to ensure their offense got back on track. Twenty-one players saw game action for the Orange, with Taylor Bigbie receiving 33 minutes of playing time and Nation getting 21 despite not starting.

Farquhar’s adjustments didn’t work, and Cal perfected its primary focus while playing relaxed.

With 7:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, Turner stormed downfield on a fast break. She weaved through traffic and got in a prime position to even the score, but Ayitey-Hamm batted the ball with her hand before kicking it with her foot to prevent a goal.

Thirty seconds later, on a penalty corner, van Kempen’s shot sailed out of play. After SU gained another chance, her shot was blocked. On the third go around, Bo Madden’s shot was saved.

SU’s last gasp came with six seconds to go in the fourth on its seventh penalty corner of the quarter. But after Schuurman’s shot on goal deflected off Ayitey-Hamm’s head, the Golden Bears bench sprinted onto the field in jubilation.

After four road victories to begin 2025, Syracuse simply didn’t take advantage of its opportunities on Sunday. The Orange certainly had chances, displayed by their 14 penalty corners, but it didn’t matter.

Published on October 12, 2025 at 7:51 pm
sabrod@syr.edu