BERKELEY – BERKELEY – The Cal careers of 12 Golden Bears and the first year of the Leonard Griffin era ended on Saturday at Edwards Stadium, with the Cal men's soccer team falling to fifth-ranked Stanford, 1-0, in the Big Clasico.
 
The Bears conclude the 2022 season with a 3-8-6 record (1-6-3 in the Pac-12), while Stanford finishes the regular season with an 11-2-5 record (4-2-4 Pac-12).
 
Cam Cilley scored in the 17th minute for the Cardinal, with Keegan Hughes and Shane de Flores earning assists.

On a Cal free kick late in the game, Cal goalkeeper Collin Travasos made his way into the Stanford box. He later took a throw in while still wearing his goalie gloves. The ball eventually landed at the feet of George Abunaw, a defender who made his first Cal start Saturday. He took a shot – his first as a Bear – that went wide at the 89:07 mark. Cal striker Nonso Adimabua had a shot that was blocked as time expired, and the season came to a close.
 
In the end, Cal held its own against another top-five team, finishing the season with one-goal losses to No. 1 Washington (twice) and to the No. 5 Cardinal.
 
The program honored its veteran Bears – Abunaw, Travasos, Fernando Andrade, Tate Dolan, Jonathan Estrada, Christian Gomez, Fahmi Ibrahim, Juan Martinez, Togo Nakamura, Arman Samimi, Jack Singer and Matthew Westly – before their collective last career game at Cal. Eleven of the 12 started against the Cardinal.

It was an emotional time for the Bears at the end of 90 minutes.

"It's a tough loss, but it won't take away from the four and a half years I've been here," said Gomez, a co-captain for the game along with Travaos. "When the final whistle blew, I felt like all my years here just flashed before my eyes, and I just broke down in tears because of the memories I've made here and the teammates I've had. I'm just thankful for this experience. Cal is the best university out there."
 
"I'm just going to miss everyone," Estrada said. "I'm just so grateful. I came in at 17, and I feel like I'm ready for the future now. Go Bears for life."
 
"I'm super proud of the group I inherited from Kevin Grimes," Cal head coach Leonard Griffin said. "It's a group with extremely high character. I couldn't have asked for a better group of kids to help us battle on the field. I'm proud of these seniors for what they've given to the program through the years here.
 
"Obviously, our door is always open for them to come back and stay connected to the program, and I know they're all going to go on and do great things in their careers after soccer. I'm proud of those guys for battling and competing here today. Anybody who came and watched this group for the first time would come away saying that's a group that fought to the end. I'm proud of them."
 
Griffin focused on the positives after completing his first season as Cal's head coach.
 
"It leaves me with a lot of optimism," Griffin said. "We have a lot of good pieces. As our staff continues to build, we'll continue to add pieces that will help the program push forward."
 
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