BERKELEY – After posting a pair of wins over top 5 teams in the final week of the regular season, Cal has earned its 20th all-time invitation to the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament. The Golden Bears will open at UC Santa Barbara Thursday with the winner to play at 12th-seeded Saint Mary's Sunday afternoon.
 
Cal heads into the postseason with an 8-6-3 overall record and a 4-4-2 mark in the Pac-12, while UCSB is 12-4-4. The teams will square off at 7 p.m. Thursday at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara.
 
"We're delighted to have been selected for NCAAs," head coach Kevin Grimes said. "Our team was in great form at the end of the season and playing extremely well the last 2-3 weeks. We had huge results against two outstanding teams, and ultimately, that had to play a big factor with us getting into the tournament."
 
The Bears and Gauchos met earlier this season when Cal emerged with a 3-0 road victory on Sept. 7. Alonzo Del Mundo had three assists, with goals coming from Arman Samimi, Thomas Williamson and Simon Lekressner.
 
Cal and UCSB have also played four times previously in the NCAA Tournament, with the Bears holding a 3-1 advantage. Cal's victories came in 2002 (2-1 in Berkeley), 2008 (3-2 OT in Santa Barbara) and 2010 (3-2 OT in Berkeley), while UCSB won 2-0 on its home pitch in 2003.
 
The Bears closed out the regular season with a strong push for NCAAs, starting with a 3-2 decision at then-No. 1 Washington on Nov. 7. The victory gave Grimes his 203rd at Cal, moving him past Bob DiGrazia to become the winningest coach in school history. A week later on Nov. 14, Cal upended No. 4 Stanford, 1-0, on the road on Williamson's second-half penalty kick.
 
Individually, Williamson leads the squad with nine goals this season, while Del Mundo has a team-high nine assists. In goal, Drake Callender owns a 1.00 goals-against average and has posted six shutouts.