BERKELEY – The California men's soccer team scrambled for a late goal in its season opener Friday at Edwards Stadium, but the Golden Bears fell to Denver 2-1.

Cal (0-1) trailed 2-0 after Denver (1-0) scored its second in the 54th minute – until Beau Morrison, a defender making his collegiate debut, scored from close range in the 83rd minute off an assist from fellow freshman Malcolm Zalayet. But Denver held on for the victory.
 
A corner kick set up Denver's first goal in the 25th minute. Midfielder Sam Bassett took the corner and Keegan Kelly nodded the ball into the net to give the Pioneers a 1-0 advantage.
 
The Bears outshot Denver 2-1 the rest of the first half, but the Pioneers took their lead into halftime.
 
In the 54th minute, Bassett assisted on a goal by Ian Smith, who scored from 15 yards out to give Denver a 2-0 lead.
 
Morrison put the Bears on the scoreboard during a goalmouth scrum. His first shot at 82:46 forced a diving save from Isaac Nehme, and then Morrison scored at 82:58 with a shot inside the far corner.
 
Cal goalkeeper Marco Brougher finished with two saves, while Nehme had one.
 
"We knew it was going to be a tough game going in, and that's a very, very good Denver team that has a lot of experience returning from last year," Cal head coach Leonard Griffin said. "It's a team that knows how to get to the NCAA Tournament. We have to test ourselves against these kinds of teams because we're going to be seeing them all season. On opening day, I'm proud of our group for the fight and for staying in the game, not throwing in the towel and getting a goal back to make it a bit of a fight there at the end. We wanted to get the win, so we'll take everything in, try to learn from it and try to get a result on Sunday against Sacramento State."
 
The Bears next play host to the Hornets (0-1) on Sunday at 2 p.m. PT at Edwards Stadium.
 
STAY POSTED
For more coverage of the Cal men's soccer team, please follow the Bears on X (@CalMSoc), Instagram (@CalMSoc) and Facebook (/CalMSoc/).