This feature originally appeared in the 2025 Fall edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to CalAthleticsFund@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.




Goalkeeper U?

For a California men's soccer program that has produced numerous goalkeepers who've starred in the professional ranks, it's an apt nickname. And it's one given to the Golden Bears largely because of the work of Henry Foulk, the former Cal goalkeeper who is in the 25th year of working at his alma mater.

Foulk has worked with many talented Cal keepers through the years and helped them reach the next level. They include current MLS goalies Stefan Frei (two-time MLS Cup champion with the Seattle Sounders), Drake Callender (Charlotte FC) and David Bingham (Charlotte FC). Jonathan Klinsmann – who previously played for the Los Angeles Galaxy in MLS – is a Bear alumnus who now guards the nets for Cesena in the Italian Serie B and who, in August, earned a call up to a U.S. National Team training camp. Some of the retired Bears who matriculated into the pros after learning under Foulk include Josh Saunders (winner of two MLS Cups with the Galaxy), Eric Kronberg (Sporting Kansas City/Montreal Impact, MLS) and Alex Mangels (Portland Timbers II, USL).

Fourth-year Cal head coach Leonard Griffin is happy to have inherited Foulk on his staff.

"He's fantastic, and his track record speaks for itself," Griffin said. "He's unique and is very creative when it comes to training goalkeepers. His methods – as mad as they are, as some would say – seem to work. He commands respect and the goalkeepers have always done a good job under his tutelage. I love having him."

Foulk is known to be quirky.

"When I first met him, I was thinking, 'Who's this guy who's 6-6, 6-7, with a bowl haircut, and is a super old school, interesting guy," said Callender, who was first coached by Foulk in the San Jose Earthquakes Academy before coming to Cal. "He was very knowledgeable about goalkeeping, soccer and just life in general."

A standout goalkeeper who earned a spot on the 1980 U.S. men's Olympic team – which boycotted the Summer Games in the then-Soviet Union that year – Foulk could have pursued various options other than playing in college. He could have gone pro or focused on the real estate business he had already started. Foulk ultimately played at Cal from 1981-84 and was a three-time All-Pacific Conference selection. He posted a goals-against average of 0.90 with 20 shutouts in his Cal career and notched one of the best GAAs in school history with a 0.74 in 1981.

After graduation, Foulk played professionally for several years, including with the NASL's Los Angeles Aztecs, the ASL's Sacramento Gold and teams in Switzerland and Germany. Along with his work at Cal, Foulk has coached for several years in the Bay Area, including with the San Jose Earthquakes Academy, De La Salle High School, Diablo Futbol Club and the Mustang Soccer Club. Foulk met Kevin Grimes at an indoor tournament in 2000, and the soon-to-be Cal head coach convinced Foulk to join his staff.

Fast forward to 2025. Foulk is coaching a talented crop of goalkeepers in graduate student Conner Lambe, seniors Marco Brougher and Thomas Grimes, and sophomore Zack Andoh.

Cal's starter for much of what was a breakout season in 2024, Brougher posted 3.39 saves per game and a 0.735 save percentage to rank second and third, respectively, in the ACC last year. He also compiled a 1.32 goals-against average for the Bears. Brougher is Foulk's latest protégé to earn national notice, collecting the ACC Goalkeeper of the Week honor last season after making eight saves in a 1-0 shutout of No. 1 Pitt. He was also named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week for his performance in that game.

Brougher knew of the tradition of Cal sending goalkeepers to the pros before he joined the Bears.

"It was a key factor in why I decided to come here," Brougher said. "If I wanted to play soccer professionally and get a world-class education, Cal was a no-brainer."

Foulk sees pro potential in all four of Cal's goalies, especially with the three veterans – Brougher, Lambe (who started 11 games in 2023 and posted a 1.06 GAA and 0.78 save percentage) and Grimes (who made 32 starts in a previous two-year stint at Wilmington College).

Part of Foulk's coaching success through the years stems from allowing players to solve problems on their own.

"In goalkeeping there are a lot of decisions you have to make," Callender said. "I remember during one training session at Cal, there was something I wasn't doing correctly. Henry wouldn't tell me the first time we saw it. We would go through two more reps. If it persisted, he would give me a hint. But he would allow me to figure it out myself. Some coaches are quick to correct you. But he puts you in a scenario or a situation that you have to figure out. It instills confidence in the player when they do it themselves."

Callender made a name for himself with Inter Miami before an August trade to Charlotte. From 2022-24, he played in 119 games and recorded 19 shutouts across all competitions for the Florida club. In 2023, he starred for the Herons when they won the Leagues Cup, earning that tournament's best goalkeeper award. He was the most recent Cal alum before Klinsmann to earn a U.S. National Team invitation, getting called in to the squad that competed in the Concacaf Nations League in 2024.

"(Foulk) doesn't only push you physically, but he pushes you mentally," Brougher added. "One of the most overlooked parts of performance in sports - and in goalkeeping in particular - is the mental side and being able to bounce back, so he does sometimes play mind games with you. He will let you struggle not just for the session, but for days, for weeks, until you figure it out on your own. Pushing you physically and mentally instead of just giving you the answers and spoon feeding you helps you grow."