Cal Visits Farm For Big Clasico
BERKELEY – The California men's soccer team returns to Pac-12 Conference play when the Golden Bears play at sixth-ranked Stanford on Thursday at 8 p.m. at Cagan Stadium. Cal brings a 3-2-3 overall record (1-1-0 in the Pac-12) into Thursday's Big Clasico, while the Cardinal is 5-0-3 (0-0-2 Pac-12)
Those who can't make the trip down to the Farm can watch the action on the Pac-12 Networks and can follow live stats here. As always, fans can follow Twitter updates for the Bears at @CalMSoc.
Cal Beats Saint Mary's 1-0
Fahmi Ibrahim's 81st-minute goal gave the Cal men's soccer team a 1-0 victory over Saint Mary's on Sunday at Edwards Stadium.
The match was close – Saint Mary's outshot Cal, 15-14. But the Bears got another strong performance from goalkeeper Collin Travasos, who made six saves to earn his third shutout of the season. Travasos was also involved on the scoring play.
With the game tied 0-0 after 80 minutes, Travasos collected the ball near the top of his penalty area and threw a long outlet pass to Juan Martinez on the flank. The midfielder found Ibrahim streaking into the Gaels' goal, and the senior forward fired the ball inside the near post to beat goalie Kash Oladapo. Ibrahim is now tied with Shoei Honda for the team lead in goals (3) and points (6).
The Gaels took two more shots, though neither tested Travasos.
Scouting the Bears
• With his goal against Saint Mary's, Fahmi Ibrahim tied Shoei Honda for the team lead in goals (3) and points (6)
• Senior midfielder Juan Martinez - who set up Ibrahim's goal vs. the Gaels - leads the Bears with two assists
• Redshirt junior goalkeeper Collin Travasos earned his third shutout of the season against Saint Mary's and improved his goals-against average to 1.00
• Travasos and sophomore defender Kevin Carmichael are still tied in minutes played at 720
• Evan Davila and Wyatt 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.
• Head coach Leonard Griffin returned to Cal in March 2022, after leading Grand Canyon to a 15-4-1 record and to the NCAA tournament in fall 2021. A UCLA alumnus (class of 2005) and a former Cal assistant coach in 2013, Griffin was part of the Bruins' NCAA championship team in 2002.
Scouting the Cardinal
• Stanford is ranked 6th in this week's United Soccer Coaches poll
• In Stanford's two most recent games, the Cardinal won at UC Santa Barbara, 2-1, on Sept. 24 and tied San Diego State, 0-0, on Sept. 18 at home
• Forward/midfielder Carlo Agostinelli paces Stanford in points (9) and is tied with forward Jackson Kiil for the team high in goals (3)
• Midfielder Fletcher Bank leads the way in assists (4)
• Jeremy Gunn in his 11th year as Stanford's head coach
Last Season Vs. Stanford
Cal capped its fall 2021 season with a 1-1, double-overtime tie with Stanford in Berkeley, with senior defender Christopher Grey scoring his first career goal in his last game as a Golden Bear. In the Bears' first match against the Cardinal last season, Stanford won, 5-0, on Oct. 3 on the Farm.
In the Nov. 11 season finale, Grey was one of six Cal seniors playing in his last game. Three of those seniors combined to create the goal in the 19th minute. Lucas Churchill, on one flank, started the play by passing the ball to Alonzo Del Mundo in the middle of the field, and Del Mundo found an unmarked Grey streaking into the Cardinal penalty area. Grey beat a defender and finished with the outside of his foot.
BeLOnG Blog Features Fernando Andrade
Fernando Andrade – Cal men's soccer's resident blogger, vlogger, podcast host, etc. – wrote the Sept. 19 BeLOnG Blog entry for CalBears.com. Entitled Just A Kid From Chula Vista, Andrade's post discusses identity and life as a Mexican American from the San Diego suburb. The busy Bear was also profiled over the summer in this Cal Sports Quarterly feature, Relentless Dedication.
Nonso Adimabua Named Player To Watch
First-year Bear Nonso Adimabua earned national distinction on Aug. 16 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 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.
Next Time
Cal continues Pac-12 play when the Bears play at Oregon State on Oct. 6 and at Washington on Oct. 9.
Social Media
For more coverage of the Cal men's soccer team, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalMSoc), Instagram (@CalMSoc) and Facebook (@CalMSoc).