CARLISLE, Pa. — Alison Marie Kokorowoski (Jr., Manhattan Beach, Calif.) scored four times to pick-up Player of the Game laurels as No. 2/No. 9 position/Sierra Pacific Division Champion the University of California rolled No. 1/No. 2 position/Big Ten Division Champion the University of Michigan, 8-5, in the 2026 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship title game conducted at the Carlisle YMCA Aquatic Center.
A three-time National Champion and six-time division champion (2015, 2022, 2023, 2025, 2026 – Sierra Pacific Division), the Golden Bears previously knocked Arizona State University (8-7 W), Boston College (19-1 W), the University of California-San Diego (13-9 W) and the University of California-Santa Barbara (8-3 W) in 2022 at the Huntsville Aquatics Center in Huntsville, Ala., for the team’s second crown.
The squad’s inaugural crown came in 2015 at Middlebury College where California defeated Washington University in St. Louis (22-4 W), UC-Santa Barbara (10-4 W), Michigan (13-5 W) and the University of Notre Dame (11-5 W) to capture the team’s first National Championship
Cal – which previously finished first (2015, 2022), third (2023), fifth (2014) ninth (2025) and 11th (2013) – never trailed in the contest as Kokorowoski (5:22, 31 seconds) sandwiched a strike by teammate Mia Walsh (Fr. Oakland, Calif.) (4:38) to stake the Golden Bears to a 3-0 margin. Devin Fisher (Fr., Rockford, Mich.) chipped a goal off the the Wolverines’ deficit by pumping a ball into the twine with 16 ticks left on the clock to shrink the Maize & Blue’s deficit to 3-1.
Kokorowoski (2:48) and Emma Kaipainen (Sr., Ann Arbor, Mich.) (2:30) converted for California and Michigan, respectively, in the second quarter as the Golden Bears entered halftime possessing a 4-2 margin.
Both teams struggled to put the biscuit in the basket until Gabby Norris (Gr., Danville, Calif.) lined in a shot to inflate Cal’s lead to 5-2. Following a response by Tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP) Zannah Baker (Sr., Ann Arbor, Mich.) at 1:40 to pull the Maize & Blue back to within a pair at 5-3, Kokorowoski completed her scoring to double-up Michigan at 6-3 with 1:06 on the clock.
Baker struck again with 6:35 to play in the fourth quarter to chip the Wolverines’ deficit down to 6-4 before Sam Allen (Fr., Manhattan Beach, Calif.) (6:16) and Isabelle Goodman (So., Newport Beach, Calif.) (4:37) drove in the final coffin nails with goals to push California ahead 8-4. Hannah Hulliberger (So., Commerce, Mich.) capped off the scoring by converting a man-up chance with 25 seconds remaining in regulation to establish the 8-5 score.
Michigan – which finished first (2023, 2024), second (2010, 2014, 2016, 2025), third (2007, 2011, 2015), fourth (2012, 2013, 2022) and seventh (2009) in the Wolverines’ other trips to Nationals – received a pair of goals from Baker to accompany solo markers by Kaipainen, Fisher and Hulliberger. Goalkeeper Luisa Nierhoff (Sr., White Plains, N.Y.) turned aside nine shots.
Kokorowoski (four), Allen, Norris, Walsh and Goodman accounted for the Golden Bears’ offensive output to support a eight save mark by goalkeeper Cece Lutz (Fr., Berkeley, Calif.).
Following the championship game and presentation of the First and Second Place plaques, Baker was named Tournament Most Valuable Player with Northeastern University head coach Jacque Li garnering Coach of the Tournament honors.
University of Michigan’s Elle Tuttle (#11) tries to get around the University of California’s Alison Marie Kokorowoski (#14)
University of California’s Ella Fritch (#4) pursues the University of Michigan’s Hannah Hulliberger (#15)
University of California’s Alison Marie Kokorowoski (#14) rocks back to evade the University of Michigan’s Zannah Baker (#2)
2026 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship Most Valuable Player – Zannah Baker (University of Michigan)
2026 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship Coach of the Tournament – Jacque Li (Northeastern University)
2026 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship Runner-Up – University of Michigan
2026 Women’s National Collegiate Club Champion – University of California
