BERKELEY – The California men's soccer team opens the 2023 season in North Carolina, where the Golden Bears take on a pair of nationally ranked opponents in UNC Greensboro on Thursday and Wake Forest on Sunday. Thursday will mark Cal's first meeting with the Spartans, while the Bears hold a 2-1-0 all-time record against the Demon Deacons.
 
Here are the details for each game:
 
Cal at No. 10 UNC Greensboro
When: Thursday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: UNCG Soccer Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
 
Cal at No. 18 Wake Forest
When: Sunday, Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. ET (Note: The game time for Cal at Wake was moved up one hour from the originally scheduled time)
Where: Spry Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Watch: ACC Network Extra
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
 
Head coach Leonard Griffin, in his second year with Cal, is in charge of a squad led by two members of the 2022 All-Pac-12 Second Team in striker Nonso Adimabua and defender/midfielder Wyatt Meyer. On Tuesday, Meyer was named to the Preseason All-Pac-12 Team (see below). This year's Bears also feature 14 newcomers, with 11 freshmen and three transfers, including former RPI forward Arik Duncan, erstwhile Oregon State goalkeeper Connor Lambe and defender Federico Barbieri, who previously played at Sonoma State.
 
Cal could feature an imposing frontline of Adimabua and Duncan, who both stand 6-4. Adimabua posted two goals and one assist in his first year as a Bear in 2022, and Duncan notched five goals, three assists and 13 points in his final year at RPI. Meyer provides a steady hand in midfield, as the No. 6, or in central defense, paired with Kevin Carmichael. Cal assistant coach Henry Foulk has another talented stable of goalkeepers, including Lambe, junior Oscar Logevall, sophomore Marco Brougher and freshman Zack Andoh.
 
The Pac-12 released its preseason coaches poll this week, with Cal chosen fifth with eight points and sixth-ranked defending conference champ Washington picked first with 23 points. The rest of the poll includes seventh-ranked Stanford at No. 2, UCLA at No. 3, Oregon State at No. 4 and San Diego State at No. 6.
 
Meyer Chosen For Preseason All-Pac-12 Team
A talented central defender and defensive midfielder, Berkeley native Wyatt Meyer was named to of the 2022 All-Pac-12 Second Team after starting 16 games and posting a career-best three assists last season.
 
The well-rounded Meyer – an English major who's pursuing a minor in history – also earned kudos for his work in the classroom, as he was named to the 2022 Pac-12 Fall Academic Team and to the College Sports Communicators' Academic All-District Team.
 
Bears Split Exhibition Games
Cal played two exhibition games in preseason. On Aug. 13, the Bears fell to Santa Clara, 2-1, in Berkeley. Cal rebounded to defeat another West Coast Conference foe, Saint Mary's, 4-1, on Aug. 19 in Moraga.
 
Scouting UNCG

• Last year, the Spartans won the Southern Conference tournament and an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament
• UNCG reached the 2022 NCAA quarterfinals
• The SoCon favorite, UNCG is led by three players who earned preseason all-conference honors in defenders Emmanuel Haggan and Ethan Conley along with midfielder Basile Marc
• Chris Rich is in his fifth season year as UNCG's head coach

Scouting Wake

• The Demon Deacons fell to Ohio State, 3-0, in the NCAA tournament first round last season
• In the ACC preseason coaches poll, Wake was chosen as the No. 2 team in the Atlantic Division and voted No. 2 in the overall standings
• Senior midfielder Hosei Kijima, whose three goals in 2022 were all gamewinners, was named to the ACC Preseason Watch List
• Senior Garrison Tubbs, a 2022 All-ACC Second-Team pick, was selected to the United Soccer Coaches Defenders to Watch List
• Bobby Muuss is in his ninth year as head coach of Wake Forest

Last Season
Cal posted a 3-8-6 record in Leonard Griffin's first season in Berkeley. Former Bear Fahmi Ibrahim led Cal in points (14) and goals (7), while Wyatt Meyer paced the Blue & Gold in assists (3), as Cal opened the year with a 2-1-3 record. Those early wins came against California Baptist (1-0) and San Diego State (2-0), and the Bears also defeated Saint Mary's, 1-0.
 
Next Time
Cal returns home to play Fairleigh Dickinson on Sept. 1 at 4 p.m. PT on Goldman Field at Edwards Stadium. The Bears then host Dartmouth on Sept. 4 at 1 p.m.
 
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