Cal Hosts Pacific To Close Preseason

BERKELEY – The California men's soccer team ends the 2022 preseason on Friday at 1 p.m., when the Golden Bears host Pacific on Goldman Field at Edwards Stadium. The Pac-12 Networks is broadcasting the game, which will mark the home debut for Leonard Griffin as Cal's head coach.

Cal will not charge admission to Friday's exhibition game.
 
Fans can follow live scores for Friday's game here and can follow Twitter updates for the Bears at @CalMSoc.
 
The Bears have a 2-0 preseason record after winning twice on the road – routing UC Riverside, 4-0, on Aug. 12 and edging Cal State Bakersfield, 1-0, on Aug. 14. Nate Carrasco scored two goals, including the winner, against the Highlanders last Friday, while Jake Himelstein netted his second goal of the trip against the Roadrunners on Sunday.
 
Nonso Adimabua Named Player To Watch
New Bear Nonso Adimabua earned national distinction on Tuesday when the United Soccer Coaches named him to its list of 30 forwards to watch this season.
 
Adimabua, a junior transfer from San Francisco, played his freshman year at USF under first-year Cal head coach Leonard Griffin. In the 2021 spring regular-season, Adimabua was named the WCC Freshman of the Year and named to the All-WCC first team after leading USF in points (11), goals (3) and assists (5).
 
In the fall of 2021, the Asaba, Nigeria, product led USF in points (11) and goals (5) and again earned All-WCC first-team status. Also in his sophomore season, Adimabua was named to the United Soccer Coaches West Region second team after he tied for third in shots on goal (17) in the WCC and finished fifth in shots (38), tied for fifth in goals and ninth in points in the conference.

Bears Fell To Tigers In 2021
In the two teams' most recent meeting, Cal fell to Pacific, 2-1, on Sept. 9, 2021, at PayPal Park in San Jose.
 
Wyatt Meyer gave Cal a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute, when he took a pass from Evan Davila and fired. His shot took a deflection off a Tiger and snuck past goalkeeper Eric Cotton for the goal.
 
But Pacific got goals from Emory Rapaport in the 13th minute and from Ryan Her in the 17th minute to beat the Bears.
 
About the Bears

• Cal defeated UC Riverside, 4-0, on Aug. 12 and blanked Cal State Bakersfield, 1-0, on Aug. 14 to start preseason on the road
• Along with Carrasco netting a brace in Riverside, midfielders Jake Himelstein and Rohan McEligot scored a goal apiece
• Himelstein, off a McEligot assist, scored the winning goal in Bakersfield
• Many of the starters from Cal's fall 2021 campaign return for 2022
• Junior midfielder Evan Davila (2 goals, 4 assists) led the Bears in points (8) and assists last season
• Also back are senior Jack Singer, junior midfielder Wyatt Meyer and forward Shoei Honda, a sophomore, who tied for last year's team high in goals with three each
• Returning defenders include redshirt junior Tate Dolan, fifth-year senior Christian Gomez and sophomore Santiago Hopkins
• The versatile Singer could play on the backline, in midfield or up front
• Jonathan Estrada, a fifth-year senior, is another option for the frontline
• Collin Travasos, a redshirt junior, is the most experienced goalkeeper for the Bears, starting 14 of 20 games
• Both Davila and Meyer have family connections to Cal. Taylor Davila, Evan's brother, patrolled the Bears' midfield from 2018-19, and now plays professionally for the Los Angeles Galaxy II. Jennifer Thomas, Meyer's mother, played for the Cal women's soccer team from 1982-85, and was an assistant coach for the Cal women's team for 11 seasons.

 About The Tigers

• Pacific was 9-5-2 last fall, when it also went 4-1-2 to take second place in the WCC
• The Tigers were voted to finish third in the WCC this season
• Midfielders Yazid Omri and Ryan Her were named to the 2022 All-WCC Preseason Team
• Her tied for the Pacific lead in goals (6) and was second in points (16) last season
• Omri was third in points (12) for the Tigers last fall
• Adam Reeves is in his fourth season as Pacific's head coach

Next Time
Cal opens the regular season on Aug. 25 at Cal State Fullerton and then plays its home opener vs. Villanova on Aug. 28.

Social Media
For more coverage of the Cal men's soccer team, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalMSoc), Instagram (@CalMSoc) and Facebook (@CalMSoc).