Coming off of a 3-3 tie with Louisville in Berkeley – in which the Golden Bears rallied from a 3-1 deficit –  the California men's soccer team (3-5-2, 0-3-2 ACC) heads to Pennsylvania to battle top-ranked Pitt on Friday.
 
Here are the details for the Atlantic Coast Conference match:
 
At No. 1 Pitt (10-1-0, 4-0-0 ACC)
When: Friday, Oct. 11, 4 p.m. PT
Where: Ambrose Urbanic Field, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Watch: ACC Network Extra
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
The game is being broadcast on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX) and ESPN+ via the ESPN App. Access to the ACC Network and ACCNX is determined by your pay TV provider (cable, satellite, telco or streaming service). Even if you do not have access to ACC Network, you can still access games via a subscription to ESPN+. Viewers with access to ACCNX can view the streaming channel on the same device (smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, connected streaming devices or espn.com/watch) where they view ACC Network. ESPN+ is a subscription-based streaming channel that can also be viewed on any streaming device.
 
Bears Rally For 3-3 Draw With Louisville
A furious comeback by Cal – 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 afternoon last Thursday 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.
 
Trailing 2-0, Duncan scored his first goal in the 25th minute off an assist from Nishimura. With the Bears down 3-1, Duncan scored again in the 61st minute, with Rohan McEligot earning the assist.
 
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. Gage Guerra – who scored Louisville's first two goals – was shown a red card in the 72nd minute, and the teams played the rest of the game with 10 players each.
 
Nishimura scored 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 goalkeeper AJ 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.
 
Scouting Cal

• Friday's game marks the first meeting between Cal and Pitt in men's soccer
• Junior goalkeeper Marco Brougher, who's started all 10 games, ranks in the top 10 in the ACC in seven categories – shutouts combined (tied for 1st, 1), shutouts combined per game (tied for 1st, 0.10), saves per game (2nd, 3.40), saves (3rd, 34), shutouts (tied for 6th, 2), save percentage (7th, 0.723) and goals-against average (10th, 1.36)
• Senior forward Arik Duncan leads Cal in points (8) and goals (3) and is tied with forwards Nonso Adimabua and Malcolm Zalayet for the team high in assists (2)
• Adimabua and Zalayet (2 goals, 2 assists each) are tied for second at Cal in points (6)
• Zalayet, sophomore midfielder Justin Knighton and sophomore defender Giancarlo Mota each has scored one game-winning goal
• Adimabua, a member of the All-Pac-12 Second-Team and the United Soccer Coaches All-Far West Region Third Team last year, is playing in his fifth season, with his career including two previous years at Cal (2022, 2023) and two seasons at San Francisco (spring 2021, fall 2021)
• Cal's 5-0 rout of Dominican on Sept. 16 in Berkeley was the first game in which any other Bear besides Brougher played in goal this season (Thomas Grimes and Ryan Savoie)
• Senior defender Kevin Carmichael and senior midfielder/defender Wyatt Meyer – both All-Pac-12 First-Team selections last season and both draft picks by Nashville SC in the MLS SuperDraft last December – are co-captains in their final season at Cal
• Carmichael, who was chosen to the ACC Preseason Watch List, was profiled in Seizing The Opportunity, a Cal Sports Quarterly magazine feature
• Meyer – the 2023 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and a member of the United Soccer Coaches All-Far West Region Second Team – was named to the United Soccer Coaches Players to Watch List for defenders and garnered a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Best XI Team this fall
• Leonard Griffin – who won the NCAA championship as a UCLA player in 2002 – was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year last season and is in his third year as head coach of the Golden Bears
• A former professional player who was drafted No. 11 overall by the Chicago Fire in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft, Griffin made MLS stops in Portland, Oregon, in Columbus, Ohio, and in Los Angeles with the Galaxy
• The Cal coaching staff includes alumnus and long-time assistant coach Henry Foulk, who has mentored numerous Bears who've played professionally including current pros Stefan Frei (Seattle Sounders FC, MLS), Drake Callender (Inter Miami CF, MLS), David Bingham (Charlotte FC, MLS) and Jonathan Klinsmann (Cesena FC, Italy Serie C)

Scouting Pitt

• Top-ranked Pitt – which is on a seven-game win streak – was predicted to finish ninth in the Preseason ACC Coaches Poll
• The Panthers' lone loss was a 1-0 shutout at Penn on Sept. 1
• In their last two games, both at home, Pitt routed Howard 8-1 on Oct. 2 and beat No. 6 Denver 2-0 on Oct. 7
• Forward Luis Sahmkow leads Pitt in points (19) and goals (8), while forward Albert Thorsen paces the Panthers in game-winning goals (3)
• Midfielder Guilherme Feitosa – who was named to the ACC Preseason Watch List – and forward Lasse Dahl are tied for the lead in assists (5)
• Goalkeeper Jack Moxom, who started Pitt's last two games, has a 0.40 GAA, while Cabral Carter, who's started six games, has a 0.67 GAA
• Jay Vidovich is in his ninth season as head coach of Pitt

Next Time
Cal remains on the road to play a nonconference game at Portland on Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. PT.
 
Stay Posted
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