BERKELEY – A furious comeback by the California men's soccer team – which had trailed Louisville 3-1 and for a few minutes played down a man – resulted in a 3-3 tie with the Cardinals on a sweltering Thursday afternoon at Edwards Stadium. Senior Arik Duncan scored a brace for Cal, while junior midfielder Gaku Nishimura netted the equalizer in the 74th minute, when – after a second red card – the teams were playing 10 vs. 10.
 
Cal's record improved to 3-5-2 (0-3-2 ACC), as it earned its second point in the ACC with the tie. Louisville's record is 4-3-2 (0-2-3).
 
Gage Guerra gave Louisville a 1-0 lead with his 20th-minute goal, then the forward scored again in the 22nd minute to double the lead.
 
In the 25th minute, Cal earned a free kick in midfield that Nishimura curled into the Cardinals' penalty area. Duncan ran onto the ball at the top of the six-yard box and slotted it past Louisville goalkeeper AJ Piela to make the score 2-1.
 
The score remained 2-1 at halftime.
 
In the 60th minute, TJ Kahoalii scored off of a Guerra assist to give Louisville a 3-1 lead.
 
About one minute later, Cal had the ball at the top of the Cardinals' box. Midfielder Rohan McEligot passed to Duncan, who fired first time to beat Piela and cut the Cal deficit to one goal. The 6-4 forward now leads Cal in points (8) and goals (3) and is tied for the team high in assists (2).
 
"It's always great to score as a striker," Duncan said. "It's good for confidence. I was trying to help the team anyway I can – do my job, score goals and press high."
 
In the 69th minute, McEligot was shown his second yellow card and a subsequent red card. Cal had to play the rest of the game with 10 Bears.
 
Louisville's Guerra was shown a red card in the 72nd minute, and the teams played the rest of the game with 10 players each.
 
The tying goal came at the 73:47 mark. The play began on the flank, with Kieran Bracken Serra crossing into the box to Nonso Adimabua. The forward passed the ball to an area just outside the box, and the onrushing Nishimura fired the ball from 22 yards out to beat a diving Piela. Nishimura has now scored a second-half equalizer in two straight home games, including a 1-1 tie with Virginia on Sept. 21.
 
Louisville had the last chance of the game in the 84th minute, with Cal goalkeeper Marco Brougher saving Ethan Subachan's low shot to preserve the draw. Brougher finished the game with two saves, while Piela had four.
 
"It was a wild one for sure," Cal head coach Leonard Griffin said. "Proud of our guys, too, especially going down two goals. It's a game where they kept fighting and were able to get back in it. It was also a game when we scored multiple goals and came out with a point. We've got to take the positives out of the negatives and get ready for the next one."
 
The Bears next play on Oct. 11, when they travel to Pennsylvania to take on top-ranked Pitt.
 
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