BERKELEY – The California men's soccer team (1-1) takes its first road trip of the season to Southern California, where the Golden Bears play at Loyola Marymount on Thursday night and takes on Cal State Northridge on Sunday night.
 
Cal has 2-2-1 record in the all-time series with LMU and a 7-3-1 record in the all-time series with CSUN.
 
Here are the details for the two games:
 
at No. 11 LMU (0-2-0)
When: Thursday, Aug. 29, 7 p.m. PT
Where: Sullivan Field, Los Angeles, Calif.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
at CSUN (1-0-1)
When: Sunday, Sept. 1, 7 p.m. PT
Where: Matador Soccer Field, Northridge, Calif.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Sidearm
 
Bears Split Opening Matches
A win and a pair of first-time goal scorers highlighted opening week for Cal, which hosted its first two games of the season at Edwards Stadium in Berkeley. The Bears fell to Denver 2-1 in its Aug. 22 season opener and defeated Sacramento State 1-0 on Aug. 25.
 
In the opener, Cal trailed 2-0 before freshman defender Beau Morrison put the Bears on the scoreboard during a goalmouth scrum to cut the lead in half. He first fired a blast at 82:46 that forced a diving save from Dever goalkeeper Isaac Nehme, and then Morrison scored at 82:58 with a shot inside the far corner.
 
Against the Hornets, Giancarlo Mota, a sophomore defender, scored his first college goal at 54:39. The scoring play began just outside the Sac State penalty area, where Cal's Isaiah Thomas played the ball to Kai Djerbaka on the right, and the midfielder's cross found Nonso Adimabua in the box. The striker settled the ball for Mota, who fired it inside the near post.
 
Cal goalkeeper Marco Brougher, who played the full 90 minutes in each game, made two saves against Denver and four against Sac State. The junior, who collected his first shutout of the year against the Hornets, has a 1.00 goals-against average.
 
Scouting Cal

• Senior defender Kevin Carmichael and senior midfielder/defender Wyatt Meyer – both All-Pac-12 First-Team selections last season – are co-captains in their final season at Cal
• 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 TopDrawerSoccer Preseason Best XI Team this fall
• Carmichael was chosen to the ACC Preseason Watch List
• Striker Nonso Adimabua, a member of the All-Pac-12 Second-Team and the United Soccer Coaches All-Far West Region Third Team last year, is back for his fifth season
• Adimabua notched a goal, three assists and five points last year, when he often paired with fellow 6-4 forward Arik Duncan (2 goals, 1 assist, 5 points)
• Adimabua was recently highlighted on CalBears.com in this Back in Camp feature
• Two other Bears who each recorded two goals, one assist and five points in 2023 were midfielders Adrian Guzman, another fifth-year senior, and Rohan McEligot, a junior
• All three Bears who played in goal last season return, including Marco Brougher (0.69 goals-against average), Connor Lambe (1.06 GAA, 2 shutouts) and Zack Andoh (1.28 GAA, 1 shutout)
• Cal boasts a large class of newcomers, including transfers Gaku Nishimura (San Jose State), a midfielder, Thomas Grimes (Wilmington College), a goalkeeper, Alfredo Ortiz (Cerritos College), a defender, and Nikolas Laredo (Pomona-Pitzer), a midfielder
• Freshman midfielder/forward Malcolm Zalayet scored a goal in the Aug. 11 preseason game against UC Davis and had an assist in the 2-0 preseason win at San Francisco, while first-year midfielder Kieran Bracken Serra logged 57 minutes against USF and his older brother, Dons midfielder Gabriel Bracken Serra
• Before joining Cal men's soccer, junior forward Michael Luckhurst was a place-kicker for the Cal football team for two seasons (2022-23)
• Freshman Griffin Gustafson is the son of Cal men's soccer alumnus David Gustafson
• The Bears play their first ACC game at N.C. State on Sept. 6 in Raleigh, North Carolina
• Cal was voted to finish 13th in the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll
• Leonard Griffin – who won the NCAA championship as a UCLA player in 2002 – was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year last season. He 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

Scouting LMU

• The Lions lost 2-0 at No. 21 UCLA on Aug. 22 and lost to CSUN 2-1 at home on Aug. 25
• Midfielder Gael Quintero scored LMU's first goal of the year at CSUN
• Forward Kayvon Monfared was red carded in the 64th minute of the loss at CSUN
• LMU was ranked No. 11 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll but, after its two losses, dropped out of the latest rankings, which were released Tuesday
• The Lions were picked to finish fourth in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll
• Midfielder Okeefe Cunningham was chosen to the All-WCC Preseason Team
• In 2023, the Lions reached the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals and compiled a 10-5-6 record
• Kyle Schmid is in his third season as LMU's head coach 

Scouting CSUN

• In their Aug. 22 season opener, the Matadors tied 18th-ranked James Madison 0-0 in Northridge, with CSUN goalkeeper Merrick Cook making three saves
• CSUN beat No. 11 LMU 2-1 on Aug. 25 in Los Angeles, with defender Deryk Jones scoring in the fourth minute and midfielder Arturo Reveles netting the game-winning goal in the 86th minute
• Cook – who made four saves vs. LMU and has a 0.50 GAA – is this week's Big West Defensive Player of the Week
• The Matadors were voted to finish sixth in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll
• Forward Marley Edwards was selected to the Big West Preseason Coaches Team
• CSUN was 4-6-8 in 2023
• Terry Davila is in his 26th year as CSUN's head coach
• Davila is the uncle of former Cal stars and current professional players Evan and Taylor Davila

Next Time
The Bears' visit to N.C. State on Sept. 6 will be the first game of any Cal team to appear on the ACC Network. Cal will then return to Berkeley for three straight home matches – vs. SMU in Cal's first ACC home game on Sept. 13, vs. Dominican College on Sept. 16 and vs. Virginia on Sept. 21.
 
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