The 11th-seeded California men's soccer team (8-7-2) plays its third consecutive game in the state of North Carolina in the ACC Championship semifinal against second-seeded and seventh-ranked Clemson on Thursday in Cary.
 
The Golden Bears arrived in the Tar Heel State two days ahead of their ACC Championship first-round, 2-1 win at then-No. 14 North Carolina on Nov. 6 and remained there through their 2-0 quarterfinal victory at then-No. 2 Duke on Sunday. If the Bears upset the Tigers, they would play the winner of the Virginia-Wake Forest semifinal in the championship game Sunday, which would mark their 14th day in the state.
 
Cal is on a three-game winning streak, with all three results coming against nationally ranked ACC opponents on the road. The streak includes a 1-0 win over then-No. 22 Stanford in the regular-season finale on Nov. 1. The Bears have captured a total of four wins over nationally ranked ACC opponents on the road, including a 1-0 upset of then-No. 1 Pitt on Oct. 11.
 
Here are the details for Thursday's game:
 
Vs. No. 7 Clemson (13-2-3)
When: Thursday, Nov. 14, 5 p.m. PT
Where: WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, N.C.
Watch: ACC Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
Brougher Honored By TDS After Play At Duke
Cal junior goalkeeper Marco Brougher earned his second Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week honor this season after shutting out then-No. 2 Duke 2-0 in the ACC Championship quarterfinals in Durham, North Carolina, on Sunday. Brougher made five saves to preserve the victory. His last two saves were big – stopping an effort by Ulfur Bjornsson in the 76th minute and saving a deflected shot by Sol Arbib on what was Duke's last shot on goal in the game.
 
This also marked Cal's third Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week honor this season.
 
Bears Blank Blue Devils
Cal continued its late-season surge and success in the state of North Carolina on Sunday by upsetting second-ranked Duke 2-0 at Koskinen Stadium. The Golden Bears got two first-half goals – a Duke own goal and an Arik Duncan strike – and stellar play from Marco Brougher in the victory.
 
At the 1:58 mark, Cal forward Nonso Adimabua earned a free kick when he was fouled in midfield trying to corral Brougher's long goal kick. Forward Alfredo Ortiz served the free kick into the Duke box, Cal defender Kevin Carmichael headed the ball across the face of the goal and Duke midfielder Kenan Hot – trying to clear the ball while fending off Cal's Wyatt Meyer – headed the ball into his own net.
 
The Bears continued to attack and, at 16:37, midfielder Kieran Bracken Serra sent a perfect ball to the top of the six-yard box, and the onrushing Duncan volleyed the ball into the back of the net.
 
In the second half, the Bears weathered a storm of Duke chances, as the Blue Devils outshot Cal 10-2 in the final 45 minutes and 19-5 for the game. Brougher made three of his five saves in the second half.
 
Carmichael Claims Conference Kudos, TDS Team of the Week Honors
Senior defender Kevin Carmichael was named the ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Week, after he scored the game-winning goal and marshalled Cal's defense in a 1-0 shutout of No. 22 Stanford in the Nov. 1 regular-season finale. The weekly ACC honor was the first of his career and the third for the Bears in their inaugural season in the conference. The Thousand Oaks product also claimed a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week for his heroics on the Farm.
 
Adimabua, Brougher Named ACC Players of the Week
After leading Cal to a 1-0 upset of then-No. 1 Pitt and its first ACC victory Oct. 11, forward Nonso Adimabua – who scored the game-winning goal – was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week and goalkeeper Marco Brougher – who made a career-best seven saves at Pitt – was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week. Brougher was also named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week for his performance against the Panthers.
 
Those were the first two ACC weekly honors for Cal in men's soccer and the first TDS Team of the Week nod for the Bears this season.
 
Scouting Cal

• Cal has a 1-1-1 record against Clemson
• Thursday's game will mark Cal's fifth in the state of North Carolina this season, including games at North Carolina State (Sept. 6), North Carolina (Sept. 28 and last Wednesday) and Duke (Nov. 10)
• Nationally, goalkeeper Marco Brougher is tied for 43rd in shutouts (5) and tied for 49th with a 0.750 save percentage; he has a 1.21 goals-against average
• Brougher, a junior who's started 16 of 17 games, is among the ACC leaders in several categories – he's No. 1 in saves (57) and save percentage (0.750), third in saves per game (3.35) and fifth in shutouts (5)
• In the ACC team rankings, Cal is second in saves (67) and tied for second in save percentage (0.750)
• Senior forward Arik Duncan leads Cal in points (12) and goals (5)
• Senior forward Nonso Adimabua and freshman forward Malcolm Zalayet are tied for second in points (10)
• Zalayet paces the Bears in assists (4)
• Seven different Bears – Adimabua (at Pitt), Zalayet (vs. Dominican), Alfredo Ortiz (at UNC), Kevin Carmichael (at Stanford), junior midfielder Allan Juarez (vs. Saint Mary's), sophomore midfielder Justin Knighton (at CSUN) and sophomore defender Giancarlo Mota (vs. Sacramento State) – have each scored one game-winning goal
• Duke's own goal was the winning goal last Sunday
• 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 head coach Leonard Griffin coached Adimabua in the spring of 2021 when both were at San Francisco
• The Saint Mary's game is the only match in which another Bear (Connor Lambe) besides Marco Brougher started in goal in 2024
• Cal's 5-0 rout of Dominican on Sept. 16 in Berkeley was the first game in which any Bear besides Brougher played in goal this season (Thomas Grimes and Ryan Savoie)
• Kevin Carmichael and senior midfielder/defender Wyatt Meyer – both All-Pac-12 First-Team selections last season and 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
• Carmichael leads Cal in minutes played (1,378), with Brougher second (1,323)
• 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
• Meyer is the son of Cal women's soccer alumna and former Cal women's soccer assistant coach Jennifer Thomas
• Senior defender Santiago Hopkins is the son of Allen Hopkins Jr., a former soccer broadcaster who's now the Executive Director of Black Players for Change
• First-year forward Michael Luckhurst is a former placekicker for the Cal football team
• Luckhurst's father, Mick, is a member of the Cal Athletics Hall of Fame who competed in rugby and football for the Bears, before playing for seven seasons for the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL
• In Cal's win at Duke on Sunday, Luckhurst played against his brother Adam, who is a forward for the Blue Devils
• 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 Clemson

• Clemson, which is on a nine-game unbeaten streak, defeated Stanford 1-0 in the ACC Championship quarterfinals on Sunday at home
• Leading goalscorer Alex Meinhard scored the game-winning goal against the Cardinal
• Meinhard leads Clemson with 10 goals and four game-winning goals; he ranks second with 21 points
• Midfielder Joran Gerbet leads the Tigers in points (22) and assists (8)
• Goalie Joseph Andema has a 1.16 GAA, four shutouts and a 0.673 save percentage in 16 games
• Clemson – which hasn't been shut out this season – ranks second behind Cal's last opponent, Duke, for most goals (49) in the ACC
• In the ACC, the Tigers are No. 1 in corner kicks (131) and are tied for the most penalty-kick goals (5) with SMU
• Clemson lost to Stanford in the regular season 3-2 on Sept. 6 at home and at Notre Dame 2-1 on Sept. 27
• Mike Noonan is in his 14th year as Clemson's head coach

Stay Posted
For more coverage of the Cal men's soccer team, please follow the Bears on X (@CalMSoc), Instagram (@CalMSoc) and Facebook (/CalMSoc).