Fresh off earning its first point in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the California men's soccer team (3-4-1, 0-2-1 ACC) travels to face third-ranked North Carolina in the program's second road trip to the Tar Heel State this season.
 
The Golden Bears competed in the first ACC competition of any Cal team when they played at North Carolina State on Sept. 6.
 
Here are the details of the upcoming match:
 
At North Carolina (5-0-3, 2-0-0 ACC)
When: Saturday, Sept. 28, 4 p.m. PT
Where: Dorrance Field, Chapel Hill, N.C.
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 Tie Cavaliers After Nishimura Strike
Last Saturday in Berkeley, Cal got arguably its goal of the year from Gaku Nishimura – who also scored his first goal as a Bear – in the 56th minute against Virginia to take a 1-0 lead. Nishimura first took a long-range shot that was blocked by a Cavalier and then collected the rebound. The junior midfielder made no mistake with his second shot, a 22-yard blast to the upper left corner of the net that goalkeeper Joey Batrouni had no chance to save. Cal led 1-0.
 
Nishimura, in his first year at Cal after transferring from San Jose State, is no stranger to finding the back of the net. The product of Yokohama, Japan, ranked second in goals (3) and points (12) for the Spartans in 2023.
 
But the Cavaliers responded with the equalizer in the 59th minute, with forward Kome Ubogu heading in Paul Wiese's cross, and the game ultimately ended in a 1-1 tie to give the Bears their first point in the ACC.
 
Scouting Cal

• The Golden Bears are 0-1 in the all-time series with North Carolina, with the only previous meeting resulting in a 3-1 Cal loss on Aug. 29, 2014, in Chapel Hill
• Freshman forward Malcolm Zalayet leads Cal in points (6), is tied with junior forward Alfredo Ortiz for the lead in goals (2) and is tied with Arik Duncan for the team high in assists (2)
• Ortiz (2 goals, 1 assist) ranks second in points (5), while Duncan (1 goal, 2 assists) is third with four points
• Zalayet, sophomore midfielder Justin Knighton and sophomore defender Giancarlo Mota each has one game-winning goal
• Gaku Nishimura was named to the All-WAC Freshman Team while at San Jose State
• Junior goalkeeper Marco Brougher, who's started all eight games, has a 1.67 goals-against average, a 0.765 save percentage and two solo shutouts
• 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
• 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
• 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, a forward, has posted one goal, one assist and three points this year
• 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 North Carolina

• While the Tar Heels are unbeaten, they have been held to ties by three unranked teams – California Baptist (0-0, Aug. 25), St. John's (2-2, Sept. 6) and Mercer (0-0, Sept. 24) – in games played in Chapel Hill
• The Mercer game was UNC's most recent and was preceded by a 2-0 win over North Carolina State on Sept. 20 in Chapel Hill, with forwards Luke Hille and Ahmad Al-Qaq netting the goals
• Forward Martin Vician leads UNC in points (12), goals (6) and game-winning goals (3), while Hille is second in points (8), goals (4) and game-winning goals (2)
• Three Tar Heels are tied for the team high in assists with four each - midfielder Juan Caffaro, forward Lucas Ross and midfielder Sam Williams
• Andrew Cordes has played every minute in goal for North Carolina and has a 0.50 GAA, a 0.714 save percentage and five shutouts
• UNC has scored 16 goals and allowed just four
• Carlos Somoano is in his 14th season as head coach of North Carolina

Next Time
Cal hosts Louisville on Oct. 3 at 3 p.m. PT in an ACC match at Edwards Stadium.
 
Stay Posted
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