The Cal men's soccer team will play 11 matches against opponents that qualified for last season's NCAA Championships in the 2019 schedule that was announced by the Pac-12 on Tuesday.

The Bears have a stacked nonconference schedule with 2018 NCAA Championship qualifiers UC Irvine and Denver at home and Portland on the road. All three teams advanced to the second round of last year's postseason. Cal also takes a trip to perennial power UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 7.

The Bears open the Pac-12 season on Sept. 21 at home against rival Stanford, which made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships last year. Cal upset the then-No. 6 Cardinal 1-0 in its 2018 regular season finale.

The Bears play nine of their first 10 matches of the season at home, including each of their first three conference matches.

Cal will appear eight times on the Pac-12 Networks, beginning with its showdown with Denver on Sept. 15 at Edwards Stadium.

Cal returns the all-conference goalkeeping tandem of Drake Callender and Noah Texter this season. Callender has been named to the United Soccer Coaches NCAA All-Far West Region Team in each of the past two seasons while Texter was an All-Pac-12 Third Team selection last year.

A promising sophomore class that logged extensive minutes last year as freshmen will provide the anchor for the 2019 team, led by stalwart defenders JJ Foe Nuphaus and Ian Lonergan as well as forward Taylor Davila. Senior Simon Lekressner and junior Christopher Grey are also two of the top returning players in the Pac-12.

Cal's roster also features nine incoming freshman, including four-star goalie Collin Travasos, ranked the No. 6 goalkeeper in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer.com. Forward Arman Samimi was a member of the U18 U.S. Men's National Team.

The Bears open the 2019 season at home on Aug. 30 against Omaha.

To view the entire 2019 schedule, click here.