BLACKSBURG, Va. – The California men's soccer team took a 2-0 lead over Virginia Tech on Sunday night at Thompson Field thanks to first-half goals from Malcolm Zalayet and Junhwan Park, who had a stellar first 45 minutes. But the Golden Bears ultimately lost 3-2 to the Hokies, who got a hat trick from Declan Quill in the second half.
 
Cal's record fell to 5-7-2 (1-5-1 ACC) after its last regular-season road game. Virginia Tech improved to 7-3-2 (2-3-2).
 
The Bears took an early 1-0 lead after Park earned a penalty kick when he was fouled in the Hokies' box at 1:35. Zalayet converted the PK for his fourth goal of the season.
 
On a Cal counterattack at 23:02, Park beat a defender and goalkeeper Sam Joseph with a shot that snuck inside the near post to give Cal its 2-0 advantage. The goal was Park's second of the year, and Cal took the lead into halftime.
 
The Bears outshot the Hokies 10-9 in the first half. But Virginia Tech outshot Cal 15-3 in the second half, with Quill scoring a hat trick including his final goal at 80:28.
 
Cal took two more shots in the waning moments of the game, but Callen Lewis had his shot blocked at 85:16 and Joseph saved Beau Morrison's shot at 89:14.
 
"It was a tale of two halves," Cal head coach Leonard Griffin. "We had a great start and great energy from the group. But it felt like we left it all out on the field in the first half. We have to put performances together for 90 minutes. Good first half. Disappointing second half."
 
The Bears conclude the regular season when they host Stanford in the Big Clasico on Oct. 31 at Edwards Stadium. The ACC Championship follows, with first-round matches played at campus sites Nov. 5.
 
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