BERKELEY, Calif. - In 2014, Cal reached the Round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament, continuing the program's success from the previous year, which saw them hold the No. 1 national ranking for six weeks, as well as reach the 2013 NCAA Quarterfinals. The 2015 Golden Bears return with several key pieces still in tact, including Preseason All-Pac-12 selection, sophomore forward Paul Salcedo and boast an incredibly deep and talented stable of underclassmen.
Friday's match can be seen live on The W.TV, as well as followed with live stats on CalBears.com, courtesy of USDToreros.com. Scoring updates for Friday's game will be provided on the @CalMensSoccer Twitter account and fans are encouraged to follow the Bears on social media @CalMensSoccer on both Twitter and Instagram, as well as on Facebook at Facebook.com/CalMensSoccer for the most up to date news and content.
EARLY TEST
The Golden Bears open their season with one of five opponents (nine games overall) who appeared in the NCAA Tournament last year; in San Diego. Cal takes on the Toreros, who were also eliminated by eventual runners-up UCLA, on Friday in San Diego at Torero Stadium.
SUPER SALCEDO
Sophomore forward Paul Salcedo was named to the Preseason All-Pac-12 Team ahead of the season. He tied for fourth on the team in points a year ago with 12, tallying four goals and four assists for the Bears. The Inglewood, California, native was named Pac-12 Player of the Week in Oct. after scoring three goals in as many games.
PAC-12 PRESEASON COACHES POLL
The Pac-12 coaches predicted Cal will finish fourth in the conference behind 2014 NCAA runners-up, UCLA, Bay Area rival and 2014 league champion, Stanford, and Washington. In 2014, the Golden Bears finished fourth with a 4-5-1 conference record. The Pac-12 also has four teams in the top 16, as UCLA checks in at No. 1 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, Stanford at No. 8, Washington at No. 10 and Cal at No. 16.
BEARS IN SEASON-OPENERS
The Golden Bears are 11-4-0 in season-openers under head coach Kevin Grimes, and have won seven of their last eight, including a 2-0 win at San Diego to open the 2007 campaign. Cal fell 3-1 at North Carolina last season in its opener.
BEARS WELCOME NEW FACES
Eight new Bears are in Berkeley for the 2015 campaign, including five four-star prospects according to TopDrawerSoccer.com. Forward Spencer Held (Agoura, Calif.), goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann (Newport Beach, Calif.), midfielder Christain Segovia (Tarzana, Calif.), defender Sam Junqua (Saratoga, Calif.), midfielder Shinya Kadono (Irvine, Calif.), forward Adam Eaton (Pasadena, Calif.), midfielder Sam Ebstein (San Francisco, Calif.) and goalkeeper Noah Texter (Irvine, Calif.) are each getting their first experience of collegiate soccer this year.
CALIFORNIA DREAMING
The California Golden Bears go by the moniker Cal, and it is incredibly appropriate, considering the team's roster is made up of 23 players from the Golden State. Only two of the 25 players are from outside of California, in junior defender Trevor Haberkorn (Keller, Texas) and sophomore midfielder/defender Ugo Rebecchini (Rome, Italy).
YOUNG NUCLEUS
California has just one senior on its roster for the 2015 campaign; goalkeeper Alex Mangels. With only a total of five upperclassmen composing head coach Kevin Grimes' squad, that means a key portion of the roster is the sophomore class, which is headlined by key returners Jose Carrera-Garcia, Paul Salcedo, Joshua Morton and Matt Chasman, who each appeared in at least 14 games each in 2014. Additionally, eight new faces are on campus, joining the three redshirt freshman who are anxious to contribute; Marko Helfrich, Matt Locklear and Jorge Miranda. Though it is an underclassmen-laden roster, there are a lot of veterans in the sense that they have a lot of game-experience.
LEADERS ABOUND
Being that the Bears are a young side, that does not mean that there isn't a lot of leadership in the team. Redshirt senior goalkeeper Alex Mangels will take on that role, especially in regards to his position, which also sees two fresh faces in Jonathan Klinsmann and Noah Texter. Additionally, a quartet of juniors will be major components of that leadership group, especially along the back line (Trevor Haberkorn, Nick Lima and Mason Case). Factor in the stability in the coaching ranks, as Kevin Grimes enters his 16th season at the helm, as does goalkeeper coach Henry Foulk, and there is a lot of experience in Blue and Gold this upcoming season.
#TJALLDAY
Junior forward Christian Thierjung is the team's leading returning scorer after posting 14 points (seven goals and two assists) in 2014. With the departure of Connor Hallisey (nine goals and 12 assists) and Stefano Bonomo (12 goals and five asists) to the professional ranks, Thierjung will be relied on heavily in the attack.
GRIMES AMONG COUNTRY'S ELITE
Head coach Kevin Grimes begins his 16th season with the Golden Bears and has cemented himself as one of the nation's best. The 2013 NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America) All Far West Region Coach of the Year has compiled a record of 164-99-36 record in Berkeley over the course of 15 seasons and trails only Cal Athletics Hall of Famer Bob DiGrazia in total wins (202 from 1952-1980).
2014 IN REVIEW
In 2014, the Bears compiled an 11-7-1 overall record (4-5-1 in the Pac-12), with a Round of 16 NCAA Tournament appearance. Cal is coming off of a two-season run that saw them maintain a hold in the top 25 in the country with a pair of deep NCAA Tournament runs. Cal drew eventual national runners-up and conference foe, UCLA in the Round of 16, falling 3-2 in Los Angeles.
GOAL ON YOU BEARS
Cal scored 47 goals in 19 matches in 2014, third most nationally, including six on 9/12 in a 6-1 win over Cleveland State, The six goal output was the most by a Cal team in 17 years, and they scored four or more goals five times in 2014, when they
didn't score more than three in a game in 2013.
Cal led the nation in goals-per-game average
with 2.47 goals-per-game. Cal also led the country in total points per game (7.84) and assists per game (2.89), posting a nation-best 55 as a team.
BEARS IN THE PROS
Currently 18 former Bears are playing professionally, including 12 who are currenly on MLS rosters. Rookie Connor Hallisey (Sporting Kansas City), Stefano Bonomo (New York Red Bulls II) and Seth Casiple (Timbers2) were all part of the Golden Bears' 2014 squad that reached the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), Christian Dean (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), David Bingham (San Jose Earthquakes), Servando Carrasco (Orlando City SC),.Stefan Frei (Seattle Sounders FC), Andrew Jacobson (New York City FC), Hector Jimenez (Columbus Crew), Eric Kronberg (Montreal Impact), Josh Saunders (New York City FC), Tyson Wahl (Columbus Crew), Anthony Avalos (SK Vard Haugesund), Chris Cortez (Orange County Blues), A.J. Soares (Viking FK), Alec Sundly (Real Monarchs SLC) and Andrew Wiedeman (Ottawa Fury) are all currently on professional rosters.
