BERKELEY – The California men's soccer program welcomes five new Golden Bears – Nathan Carrasco, Evan Davila, Fernando Lara Barrios, Wyatt Meyer and Matthew Westly – to the roster for the 2020 season, head coach Kevin Grimes announced Wednesday.
 
The newcomers will bolster a squad coming off an appearance in the 2019 NCAA Tournament and that boasted wins over two top-five programs during the regular season.
 
"This is a great group of five players that we have added to our program," Grimes said. "Each one of them highlights specific needs to our team and should help us in a big way to reach our goals. We couldn't be happier with their decision to sign with Cal."
 
Carrasco, a product of Sacramento, California, is a member of the U.S. Olympic Development Program and competes for the Sacramento Republic Academy. The talented 5-8 forward has scored over 100 goals for his club, including one in his Sacramento debut.
 
Evan Davila will join his older brother, Taylor Davila, in Berkeley. The 5-9 midfielder, who hopes to major in computer science at Cal, comes from Sherman Oaks, California, and plays for the Real SoCal Academy.
 
Born in Berkeley, Lara Barrios now hails from San Diego. A defender for the Nomads FC Academy, he previously won the Surf Cup and State Cup with Lamorinda SC. One of his brothers, Edwin Lara, is a professional soccer player in Mexico, with the elder Lara on loan from Pachuca to León.
 
A forward for the ACC Mavericks and another Berkeley native, Meyer was a member of the Cal North Team in the Olympic Development Program the previous two years. He also has a family link to Cal, as he is the son of former Cal women's soccer assistant coach Jennifer Thomas, who also played for the Bears from 1982-85. His father, Rich Meyer, played soccer and lacrosse at Lake Forest College.
 
Matthew Westly, another local product from Atherton, California, is a goalkeeper who plays for the Silicon Valley Soccer Academy. The 18-year-old also played competitive basketball until high school and has a black belt in Tae Kwan Do. Westly, who has already enrolled at Cal, intends to major in business administration.