Cal Hosts Washington At Witter

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BERKELEY – California men's soccer continues its 2021 spring regular season when it hosts 2019 NCAA quarterfinalist Washington in a Pac-12 Conference game on Saturday, Feb. 27, at 1 p.m. at Witter Rugby Field.
 
The Golden Bears are 0-1 (0-1 Pac-12), while Washington is 2-1 (0-1 Pac-12). The teams will play each other in another conference clash on April 3 in Seattle.
 
Saturday will feature the first collegiate game between Cal senior midfielder Lucas Churchill and his younger brother, Washington freshman midfielder Julian Churchill.
 
Cal had a memorable last meeting with the Huskies in 2019, when the Bears upset No. 1 Washington in Seattle, 3-2, and made head coach Kevin Grimes the program's career leader in wins with 203. He has 204 wins heading into Saturday.
 
In that game, the Bears trailed, 2-1, in the second half, when Francisco Perez set up Tommy Williamson for a 63rd-minute equalizer. In the 79th minute, Alonzo Del Mundo netted the gamewinner off assists from Christian Gomez and Simon Lekressner. Noah Texter got the start in goal and made five saves for the Bears, and Drake Callender made two saves in the second half. The win made head coach Kevin Grimes the program's career leader in wins with 203.
 
Due to local COVID-19 protocols, fans are not permitted to attend Cal home games. Saturday's game will be live streamed at this link. Fans can also follow Saturday's game via live stats by clicking here and by following updates on Twitter @CalMSoc.
 
Last Time: Bears Fall In Big Clasico
Cal played Stanford for its first game in 15 months in its Feb. 20 season opener at Witter. Christian Gomez scored in the 50th minute to tie things at 1-1, but the Cardinal wound up winning, 3-1. Goalkeeper Chris Gustini made three first-half saves for the Bears, while Collin Travasos made two saves in the second half.
 
About the Bears

• Forward Tommy Williamson led Cal in goals (9) and points (18) as a junior in 2019
• Williamson was selected by the San Jose Earthquakes in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft
• Alonzo Del Mundo, a forward, paced the Bears and tied for the Pac-12 lead in assists (9) and tied for second in scoring (13 points) in 2019
• Jonathan Estrada, a forward, also posted 13 points (5 goals, 3 assists) as a sophomore
• Francisco Perez, a midfielder, was fifth on the team with 12 points (2 goals, 6 assists) as a sophomore
• Three of the four Bears who formed Cal's strong defense in 2019 are back in All-Pac-12 honorees JJ Foe Nuphaus, Christopher Grey and Ian Lonergan
• Kevin Grimes is in his 21st season as head coach

About the Huskies

• UW has beaten Northwest, 6-0, and Gonzaga, 3-0, and lost to Oregon State, 2-1, on Feb. 20
• Midfielder Nick Scardina leads UW in goals (3) and points (6)
• Midfielder Imanol Rosales paces the Huskies in assists (3)
• Goalkeeper Sam Fowler has a 0.91 goals-against average in three games
• Jamie Clark is in his 11th year as Washington's head coach

USA Tabs Former Bears For Olympic Qualifying
Former California men's soccer goalkeepers Drake Callender (Inter Miami CF) and Jonathan Klinsmann (Los Angeles Galaxy) along with former signee Sebastian Soto (Norwich City U-23s) were named to the United States' preliminary roster for the Concacaf Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
 
The U.S. will trim its preliminary list of 48 players to 20 no later than 10 days before the tournament. Qualifying will take place March 18-30 in Mexico and produce two representatives to compete in the Summer Olympics in Japan.
 
Callender played for the Bears from 2016-19 and was briefly teammates with Klinsmann (2015-16 at Cal). Soto signed with Cal in 2018 but instead went pro when he joined Hannover 96, a German club.

Next Time
Cal plays its first road game at Oregon State on March 7 at a time TBA.