BERKELEY – The California men's soccer team enjoyed a good start to its game against Notre Dame on Sunday at Edwards Stadium, taking a 5-3 shots advantage through 23 minutes and forcing former Golden Bear Collin Travasos to make three early saves. The Golden Bears also outshot the Fighting Irish 13-6 for the game. While the Bears allowed just two shots on goal, Notre Dame scored on both, and Cal lost 2-0 in its regular-season home finale.
 
Cal's record fell to 5-7-2 (1-4-2 ACC). Notre Dame is 7-3-5 (3-2-2).
 
"I was proud of the way we played overall," Cal head coach Leonard Griffin said. "We had a lot of possession. We battled and competed the way I always want us to compete – leave it all on the field. At the end of the day it's the team that puts the ball in the back of the net. I think I saw two chances on goal, and they capitalized on both of them.
 
"We have to continue to create the chances that we've been making, be a little more clinical in the box and do a better job of defending our own box. This is a good Notre Dame team, a team that made it to the national final last year. We continue to show we can play with anybody in the country. We'll keep moving forward and building."
 
Before the game, Cal celebrated the careers of Nonso Adimabua, Kevin Carmichael, Arik Duncan, Adrian Guzman, Santiago Hopkins, Connor Lambe and Wyatt Meyer in its Senior Day ceremony. Three of those Bears combined to produce Cal's five early shots. Meyer took two shots in the opening minutes, including a seventh-minute effort that Travasos saved. Adimabua put a pair of shots on goal that were saved in the 14th and 19th minutes, while Duncan shot high in the 17th minute.
 
Notre Dame took a 1-0 lead in the 32nd minute when Matthew Roou slotted home a cross from KK Baffour.
 
Cal outshot the Irish 6-1 in the second half, but Notre Dame scored on that lone shot. In the 78th minute, Roou crossed to Nolan Spicer deep in the box, and Spicer finished at the far post to make the score 2-0.
 
The Bears had one last chance to get on the scoreboard, but Adimabua's 85th-minute shot was wide.

"I was really proud of the guys and how we fought," Meyer said. "Really proud to be a Bear. It's a sad, bittersweet last time here at Edwards, but there's no place I'd rather be right now than with my brothers. I love these guys."
 
Cal concludes the regular season at No. 7 Stanford on Friday before playing in the ACC Championship first round on Nov. 6.
 
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