Cal Ties Stanford To End Season

BERKELEY - California men's soccer defender Christopher Grey - playing in his last game as a Golden Bear - scored the first goal of his college career as Cal ended the season with a 1-1 tie against Stanford on Thursday at Edwards Stadium.

The Bears closed the 2021 fall campaign with a 3-9-3 record (1-6-1 Pac-12). Stanford's record is now 6-6-6 (2-4-4 Pac-12).

Before the game, Cal honored its six graduating seniors – Grey, midfielder Lucas Churchill, forward Alonzo Del Mundo, goalkeeper Chris Gustini, defender Ian Lonergan and forward Dylan Penn – before their collective last game. All six started the Big Clasico.
 
Three of those seniors combined to create Cal's goal in the 19th minute. Churchill, on one flank, started the play by passing the ball to Del Mundo in the middle of the field, and Del Mundo found an unmarked Grey streaking into the Cardinal penalty area.
 
"I took the defender on and finished with the outside of my foot," Grey said. "It was cool. I was excited to celebrate it with my teammates. It was fun."
 
Cal sophomore forward Nate Carrasco came close to scoring when he made his way deep into the Stanford box in the 35th minute. But his shot hit the crossbar.
 
The Bears took the 1-0 lead into halftime.

Soon after the break, Stanford's Ousseni Bouda equalized with a header from a difficult angle, as Carlo Agostinelli and Gabe Segal assisted on his 48th minute strike.

Gustini played well in his last college game, making eight saves including three in overtime.
 
Churchill had Cal's last best chance to score in OT, forcing a save out of Frank with his 99th-minute shot.
 
But, after 110 minutes, the rivals settled for a 1-1 tie.
 
"The first half we came out gloriously on the front foot and played a magnificent half – probably our best half of the year," Cal head coach Kevin Grimes said. "The second half, you have to give them credit. They turned it up a notch, and they definitely applied some pressure to us. In overtime, we regrouped and it was pretty even."
 
Cal had a strong finish to the end of the season, compiling a 1-1-2 record in its last four games. The Bears could have done even better if they had been able to complete two conference games – Oct. 24 vs. San Diego State in Berkeley and Oct. 28 vs. Washington in Seattle – that were scuttled by rain. Cal was even tied with the fourth-ranked Huskies, 1-1, until the match was declared a no-contest due to bad weather.
 
"This is just a sign of where the group is the last four weeks," Grimes added. "We played Stanford six weeks ago and lost 5-0. Here we are today, and we tied 1-1, and they're playing for their playoff lives. It just goes to show in the last four weeks we've been dynamite."
 
The game meant the end of the line for the six seniors.
 
"It all feels surreal," Lonergan said. "I have so many to thank, starting with the coaching staff and this university, who've done so much for me. I could not be more grateful. This last game, and with this last result, it's a farewell, but it's something I'll never forget. This game topped it off in the perfect way. This team is so resilient, and we fought so hard today. It just shows this program and this group of guys who are going to continue to lead this program is strong, and they're going to continue to take big steps."