Bears Edged By No. 15 Oregon State

BERKELEY – The return of senior JJ Foe Nuphaus to the California men's soccer lineup helped inspire a strong defensive effort by the Golden Bears against 15th-ranked Oregon State on Thursday at Edwards Stadium. But, with the game looking like it was headed to overtime, the Beavers scored a late goal, and Cal fell, 1-0.
 
The Bears' record is now 2-7-1 (0-4-0 Pac-12). OSU improved to 7-1-1 (3-0-0 Pac-12).
 
Oregon State outshot Cal, 12-0, in the first half. But the dogged play by the Bears, who got five saves from starting goalkeeper Chris Gustini and the first game and first start of the season from Foe Nuphaus, kept the game 0-0 at halftime.
 
"I felt alright," Foe Nuphaus said of his fall 2021 debut. "It's easier when you have a good team you've been together with for a while. It helps you transition easier."
 
Cal sophomore Wyatt Meyer notched the Bears' first shot at 59:35, but OSU goalie Adrian Fernandez made the save. In the next six minutes, Cal also produced two corner kicks, and in the 68th minute Cal defender Christian Gomez hit a shot wide.
 
The Bears recorded their last shot in the 81st minute on a quick turn from freshman forward Shoei Honda, but he couldn't put his shot on goal.

The collective defensive work by the Bears – including from Meyer, Christopher Grey, Ian Longergan, Jack Singer and others – kept the Beavers at bay for stretches of the second half.
 
At 87:49, OSU's Joran Gerbet took a corner kick that found Sofiane Djeffal deep in the Cal box, and the Beaver midfielder headed the ball past Cal's second-half goalie, Collin Travasos, who made two saves in the last 45 minutes.
 
"We played pretty well today," Foe Nuphaus said. "We didn't get the result we wanted, but we had a good effort."
 
Cal next hosts second-ranked Washington on Sunday at 12 p.m. in a game broadcast by the Pac-12 Networks.