HONOLULU – Two days after not finishing their chances in a season opening loss, No. 18 California responded in the grandest of fashions by netting five times – including the first career hat trick byArielle Ship – to earn a 5-1 win against Hawaii at the Waipi’o Peninsula Stadium in the Outrigger Resorts Classic.

Ship scored the first three goals of the game to become the 13th Golden Bear to record a hat trick. Sophomore Guro Bergsvand earned Cal’s fourth goal and junior Kelly Fitzgerald added the fifth for Cal (1-0). Hawaii (0-2) was able to avoid the shutout with an 85th minute goal off a deflected free kick.

The hat trick marked the first multi-goal game of Ship’s career and was the 28th hat trick in program history. The junior opened the scoring slightly over three minutes in with a goal towards the far post at 3:04. She added her second in the 25th minute with an assist fromIfeoma Onumonu who was making her first start of the season after missing most of last year with a leg injury.

With the Bears holding the 2-0 lead at halftime courtesy of Ship’s brace, it only took seven minutes into the second half for her to make her mark in the record books with another unassisted goal at 51:55. Ship finished the game with three goals amongst her five shots on frame.

"We were able to fix some things that needed to be addressed from the BYU game, and we came out aggressive and hungry to beat Hawaii," Ship said after the game. 

Bergsvand added the fourth goal of the game at 61:31 with a header after being fed by Onumonu and Emma Fletcher. Fletcher, the highly creative attacking midfielder who transferred from LSU this season, earned her first career points as a Golden Bear with the assist.

"Our team played very connected and well as a unit," Ship added. "We created a bunch of good opportunities on goal, and I'm so proud of us for getting this win tonight."

Fitzgerald tallied the fifth unanswered goal ta 82:33 on an assist by Heather Walleigh before the ‘Bows responded 90 seconds later with Lauren Takai’s rebound off a deflected free kick.

It was also a solid weekend for the Golden Bear defense who finished games against No. 19 BYU and Hawaii with a total of five shots on goal allowed in 180 minutes.

Cal finished the game with a 21-4 advantage in shots, including a 9-2 edge in shots on frame.

The Bears return to action Tuesday night when they host Beijing Normal University in an exhibition match at Edwards Stadium at 5 p.m.

Head Coach Neil McGuire
"We played very well against a very determined Hawaii team. Coach Nagamine always has her teams prepared, and we were pleased to have created the chances we did."

"The team responded well to a disappointing loss on Friday and gained confidence from this game."

Goal Summary
3:04, Cal – Arielle Ship (-) – Strike into the lower right corner
24:50, Cal – Arielle Ship (Ifeoma Onumonu) – One touch after feed from Onumonu
51:55, Cal – Arielle Ship (-) – Lower corner
61:31, Cal – Guro Bergsvand (Ifeoma Onumonu, Emma Fletcher) – Header via back heel thru ball by Onumonu and cross by Fletcher
82:33, Cal – Kelly Fitzgerald (Heather Walleigh) – Slotted a low shot into the corner
84:00, Hawaii – Lauren Takai (-) – Off deflection from a free kick

News & Notes
● The start of the game was delayed 48 minutes due to inclement weather, kicking off at 8:48 p.m. PT
● The Bears improve to a perfect 4-0-0 in the series against Hawaii.
● Head Coach Neil McGuire earned his 99th victory for the California program.
● Junior Arielle Ship earned her first career multi-goal game with a hat trick after netting twice in the opening 25 minutes and a third time in the 52nd minute.
● The 28th hat trick in California program history. Ship becomes the 13th Golden Bear to do so, giving the current Golden Bear squad two hat trick members (Samantha Witteman; Sept. 22, 2013)
● Senior Ifeoma Onumonu earned her first assist since connecting with Celeste Boureille for the gamewinner against Washington on Nov. 3, 2013. Onumonu finished Sunday with two assists
● Junior Emma Fletcher earned her first points as a Golden Bear after assisting Guro Bergsvand’s 62nd minute goal
● The Golden Bear defense ends the opening weekend having allowed only five total shots on goal in games against No. 19 BYU and Hawaii

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