Robert Edwards/KLC Photos
Adrian Guzman returns for his fifth season when Cal begins the 2024 season in Berkeley.
BERKELEY – The California men’s soccer team begins its third season under head coach Leonard Griffin with nonconference games against Denver on Thursday and Sacramento State on Sunday at Edwards Stadium.
In their first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Golden Bears will look to improve on their 2023 winning streak, in which they more than doubled their 2022 winning streak, with Griffin named Pac-12 Coach of the Year and Wyatt Meyerand saw two players – Meyer and Kevin Carmichael – selected in the MLS SuperDraft in December.
Here are the details of the upcoming games:
Against Denver (0-0-0)
When: Thursday, August 22, 4:30 p.m. PT
Where: Edwards Stadium, Berkeley
Watch: ACC Network Extra (ACCNX)
Live statistics: Statbroadcast
Against Sacramento State (0-0-0)
When: Sunday, August 25, 2:00 p.m. PT
Where: Edwards Stadium, Berkeley
Watch: ACCNX
Live statistics: Statbroadcast
Thursday’s game against the Pioneers is part of a doubleheader with the Cal women’s soccer team, which hosts Gonzaga at 1:30 p.m.
Permit
Here are the ticket prices for the men’s soccer team’s home games this season at Edwards Stadium:
Adults $10
Seniors (65+) $7
Youth (24 months to 12th grade) 7 USD
Cal Student Free with valid student ID
Carmichael and Meyer added to preseason watch lists
Kevin Carmichael And Wyatt Meyer – both selected by Nashville SC in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft – have been placed on two watch lists for the 2024 season.
In early August, Meyer was named to the United Soccer Coaches Players to Watch List for defenders and recently earned a spot on the TopDrawerSoccer Preseason Best XI Team. The 6-foot-2 center back and defensive midfielder earned plenty of accolades for the 2023 season – he was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and was selected to the All-Pac-12 First Team, United Soccer Coaches All-Far West Region Second Team and College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Team. Along with Carmichael, the Berkeley native led a Cal team that posted a 1.06 goals-against average, the Golden Bears’ best defensive performance since 2013 (0.97 GAA). Meyer also contributed on offense, scoring his first goal since 2021 and adding two assists in the season finale at Stanford. Cal’s Ironman led the Bears in minutes played (1,577).
Carmichael, also 6-2, was named to the ACC Preseason Watch List in mid-August. The talented center back is coming off a 2023 season in which he earned All-Pac-12 First-Team status and set career highs with three goals and seven points in 18 appearances for the Golden Bears. One of his goals was the game-winning goal in a 2-1 win at Washington, and he also scored a goal in a 1-1 tie with No. 18 Wake Forest. Carmichael is a reliable member of the defensive line and ranked second in minutes played for Cal (1,548).
Scout Cal
- Kevin Carmichael And Wyatt Meyer are co-captains in their final season at Cal
- striker Nonso AdimabuaMember of the All-Pac-12 Second Team and the All-Far West Region Third Team, is back for his fifth season
- Adimabua scored one goal, three assists and five points last year when he often played with another 6-4 forward Arik Duncan (2 goals, 1 assist, 5 points)
- Two other Bears who each scored two goals, one assist and five points in 2023 were midfielders Adrian Guzmananother fifth-grader, and Rohan McEligota junior
- All three Bears who were in goal last season are returning, including Marco Brougher (0.69 goals conceded on average), Connor Lamb (1.06 GAA, 2 shutouts) and Zack Andoh (1.28 goals conceded average, 1 win to nil)
- Cal has a large number of new recruits, including transfer players Gaku Nishimura (San Jose State), a midfielder, Thomas Grimes (Wilmington College), a goalkeeper, Alfredo Ortiz (Cerritos College), a defense attorney, and Nicholas Laredo (Pomona-Pitzer), a midfielder
- Freshman Midfielder/Striker Malcolm Zalayet scored a goal in the Aug. 11 preseason game against UC Davis and provided an assist in the 2-0 preseason win at San Francisco on Friday, while the first-year midfielder Kieran Bracken Serra played 57 minutes against USF and his older brother, Dons midfielder Gabriel Bracken Serra
- Cal finished 13th in the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll
- Leonard Griffin – who won the NCAA championship as a UCLA player in 2002 – is in his third season as head coach of the Golden Bears
- Griffin, a former professional player who was drafted No. 11 overall by the Chicago Fire in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft, played MLS matches in Portland, Oregon, Columbus, Ohio, and Los Angeles with the Galaxy.
Explore Denver
- The Pioneers posted a record of 12-3-5 and reached the second round of the College Cup last season
- Denver was voted the 2024 preseason favorite in the Summit League coaches poll
- Two Pioneers have achieved TopDrawerSoccer Best XI status – goalkeeper Isaac Nehme (0.94 GAA in 2023) is on the first team, while midfielder Sam Bassett – a United Soccer Coaches Second-Team All-American in 2023 – is on the second team
- Jamie Franks is in his 10th season as head coach of Denver
Exploring Sacramento State
- The Hornets host Utah Valley on Thursday for the season opener
- Sacramento State recorded a record of 4-10-4 in 2023
- First-year forward Ethan Kelley was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Preseason Best XI Freshman Team
- Michael Linenberger has been Sac State’s head coach for 35 years
Next time
Cal heads south for two more non-league games at LMU on Aug. 29 and at CSUN on Sept. 1.
Stay up to date
For more coverage of the Cal men’s soccer team, please follow the Bears on X (@CalMSoc), Instagram (@CalMSoc) and Facebook (/CalMSoc/).
