51st Annual Cal Cup Concludes After a Weekend of Excitement at Moorpark College

MOORPARK, Calif. – After four days of non-stop field hockey over Memorial Day Weekend, the 51^st Annual California Cup International Field Hockey Tournament (Cal Cup) is in the books. The event concluded with two exciting finals matches at Harris Family Stadium at Moorpark College in Moorpark, Calif. The Women’s Super-Division final matched an international team, Osaka, against a domestic team from Maryland, the Thirsty Turtles. In the end, Osaka claimed a thrilling 1-0 over the Thirsty Turtles. In the Men’s Super-Division final, the LA Tigers became back-to-back champions after defeating the LA Kings 3-1 – also securing their 5th title and the $5,000 prize money. This year’s champions also received the first ever Cal Cup Championship Belt.

For third place in the Women’s Division, Tres Generaciones from Mexico defeated the Olympic Club 2-0. In the Men’s Division third place game, Yuba Brothers took down Bulldogs 3-2 in a hotly contested match.

The 51st edition of one of the oldest and most prestigious field hockey tournaments in the world, the 2023 Cal Cup featured 130 teams, with players representing 18 countries, and consisted of more than 2,000 athletes competing in 14 divisions ranging from U-8 to Men/Women Super.

The U-19 Men’s Elite Division was settled in a shootout, with team JOH defeating West Vancouver Pro League Allstars 2-1. The U-12 Mixed Division was one of the highlights of the tournament, with 16 teams traveling from as far away as Taiwan, and others from Florida, Texas, Colorado, and California. The U-14 Open Division was a back-and-forth duel that was settled in strokes, with the Lightning Boys defeating the CA Hawks Boys team 2-1 in front of hundreds of fans.

This year’s Cal Cup also featured a few tournament firsts, including playing games under the lights into the night, and the introduction of a U-19 Women’s Elite Division, which saw participation by a team from New Zealand. In the final, a powerful NorCal Impact team defeated VCRD 2-1 for the U-19 Women’s Elite championship.

Back by popular demand, the Cal Cup Committee provided a festive beer and wine garden with all proceeds going directly to the Moorpark College Foundation to support students.

Congratulations to Cal Cup Founder Tom Harris, who is the only person to have played in all 51 Cal Cup tournaments. A big thank you to the 2023 Cal Cup Tournament Organizing Committee and everyone involved for once again doing a professional job hosting this excellent international field hockey tournament. 

In addition to the $5,000 top prize in each Super Division, all players in the top three teams of each Division received gold, silver, or bronze medals. The $5,000 Men's prize was sponsored by the U.S. Men's Field Hockey Foundation, while the Women's prize was sponsored by Longstreth.