With a berth in the NCAA Championship at stake for the conference tournament champion, the 12th-seeded California men's soccer team begins its ACC Championship campaign with a first-round game at fifth-seeded Duke on Wednesday at 4 p.m. PT in Durham, North Carolina. This marks the second game of the year – and third all-time game – between the teams, which tied 1-1 in Berkeley during the regular season. It also marks the second consecutive year the teams will meet in the conference tournament in Durham. Last season, Cal upset then-No. 2 Duke 2-0 in the quarterfinal round in the first meeting between the programs.
 
ACC Championship – First Round
 
Cal (6-7-2) at Duke (8-2-6)
When: Wednesday, Nov. 5, 4 p.m. PT
Where: Koskinen Stadium, Durham, NC
Watch: ACCNX
Live Stats: Sidearm
 
All seven of the first-round matches will air on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX), while the ACC Network will broadcast Sunday's quarterfinals and the Nov. 13 semifinals, and ESPNU will show the Nov. 16 final.
 
Bears Stun Stanford To End Regular Season
Cal heads to the Tar Heel state riding the momentum of its big 1-0 upset win over top-ranked Stanford in the regular-season finale on Halloween in Berkeley. In 2024, a 1-0 win at then-No. 22 Stanford in the regular-season finale propelled the Bears to a deep run in the ACC Championship, which started with a 2-1 win at No. 14 North Carolina in the first round and continued with the quarterfinal victory at Duke. Cal ended its run after a close semifinal match against No. 7 Clemson in Cary, North Carolina, where the Tigers edged the Bears 3-2.
 
Against the Cardinal on Friday, Junhwan Park scored a goal for the third straight game to hand the Bears the win, which marked Cal's first home victory of the season. Cal's win also prevented Stanford from capturing the ACC regular-season title – the Cardinal finished second in the conference – and snapped Stanford's 10-game unbeaten streak as well as its five-match shutout streak.
 
Last Time Vs. Duke: Morales Nets First Goal In Draw
Freshman Noe Morales gave Cal a 1-0 lead over No. 19 Duke with his first goal as a Golden Bear on Sept. 24, but the Blue Devils scored a second-half equalizer at Edwards Stadium, and the teams settled for a 1-1 tie.

In the 22nd minute, Duke cleared a ball from deep in its penalty area only as far as Cal's Wisdom Onuoma, who was inside the top of the box. The defender whipped a cross into the six-yard box, and the ball deflected off one or two Blue Devils by the near post before settling at Morales' feet in front of goal. The unmarked midfielder tapped the ball into the open net for his first collegiate goal. Duke midfielder Alessandro Arlotti headed in the tying goal in the 84th minute.
 
2024 ACC Quarterfinal In Review: Bears Blank Blue Devils
Cal continued its late-season surge and success in the state of North Carolina by upsetting second-ranked Duke 2-0 at Koskinen Stadium in Durham in the quarterfinals of the 2024 ACC Championship. The Bears got two first-half goals – a Duke own goal and a strike from forward Arik Duncan – along with five saves from goalkeeper Marco Brougher in the victory.
 
At the 1:58 mark, Cal forward Nonso Adimabua earned a free kick when he was fouled in midfield trying to corral Brougher's long goal kick. Cal junior Alfredo Ortiz served the free kick into the Duke box, Cal defender Kevin Carmichael headed the ball across the face of the goal and Duke midfielder Kenan Hot – trying to clear the ball while defending Cal's Wyatt Meyer – headed the ball into his own net.
 
The Bears continued to attack and, at 16:37, midfielder Kieran Bracken Serra sent a perfect ball to the top of the six-yard box, and the onrushing Duncan volleyed the ball into the back of the net.
 
Scouting the Bears

• Cal defender Sintayehu Clements is a graduate student who played as an undergraduate at Duke before joining the Bears in the summer
• Clements played in the ACC quarterfinal against the Bears last fall
• Cal and Duke played four common opponents – UC San Diego (Cal tied 1-1; Duke won 1-0), Boston College (Cal won 2-0; Duke tied 0-0), Clemson (Cal lost 3-1; Duke lost 3-0) and Syracuse (Cal lost 2-0; Duke won 2-0)
• The Bears ended the regular season with a 2-6-1 ACC record
• Luka Lukic – a graduate transfer from UC Riverside – was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week for the first week of the season after the forward scored three goals in his first two games as a Golden Bear, including a brace in a 3-2 win at Saint Mary's in the Aug. 21 season opener and the game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory at UCLA on Aug. 24
• The Belgrade, Serbia, native leads Cal in goals (7), points (15), shots (39) and shots on goal (20) and has one game-winning goal
• In ACC overall statistics, Lukic is tied for seventh in goals (7), is sixth in shots on goal per game (1.33) and is ninth in shots per game (2.60)
• Sophomore forward Malcolm Zalayet ranks second in goals (4) and points (10) at Cal
• Including his goal against Stanford, sophomore midfielder Junhwan Park ranks third on the team in scoring with seven points (3 goals, 1 assist)
• Sophomore midfielder Kieran Bracken Serra leads the Bears in assists (4) and ranks fourth in points (6)
• Cam Wilkerson – a UCLA transfer who netted the winning goals in the season-opening 3-2 win at Saint Mary's and against Radford – leads Cal with two GWGs, which ties him for tied for eighth in the ACC
• Wilkerson is tied with senior defender Alfredo Ortiz for fifth in points (5), as each Bear has two goals and one assist
• Ortiz was one of 15 players named to the ACC Preseason Watch List this summer after ranking fourth in goals (3) and points (7) for the Bears in 2024
• Ortiz contributed one of Cal's biggest goals of 2024 in the ACC Championship opener last November in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, converting Cal's lone penalty kick of the season to give the Bears a 2-1 win over the host Tar Heels
• Graduate student goalkeeper Connor Lambe, who has started 12 games and played 13, has compiled a 2.00 goals-against average and ranks eighth in the ACC in saves per game (2.54)
• Senior goalkeeper Marco Brougher, who has started in three of five games played, has a 0.83 GAA and a 0.80 save percentage
• Sophomore goalie Zack Andoh has notched a 1.26 GAA after starting the second halves of five matches
• Freshman winger Callen Lewis is the son of former MLS and USMNT star Eddie Lewis, who played for the San Jose Clash (now Earthquakes) and Los Angeles Galaxy along with several English clubs (Fulham, Preston North End, Leeds United and Derby County) and tallied 82 caps for the United States
• Callen Lewis – who has four points from two goals to rank seventh in scoring at Cal – scored his first collegiate goal in the Sept. 19 match at Clemson
• While Cal just joined the ACC last season, a member of the current squad has had a longer tenure in the conference, as defender Sintayehu Clements – now a graduate student – wrapped up a four-year undergraduate career with Duke last season
• Clements played against some of his future teammates in last year's ACC Championship quarterfinals, in which Cal blanked No. 2 Duke 2-0 in Durham, North Carolina
• Leonard Griffin – who won the NCAA championship as a UCLA player in 2002 – was named the 2023 Pac-12 Coach of the Year last season and is in his fourth year as head coach of the Golden Bears
• A former professional player who was drafted No. 11 overall by the Chicago Fire in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft, Griffin made MLS stops in Portland, Oregon, in Columbus, Ohio, and in Los Angeles with the Galaxy
• The Cal staff includes assistant coaches Ricardo Gutierrez – who worked with Griffin in the latter's previous stops at Grand Canyon and USF – and Jacob Wilson, a Cal men's soccer alumnus
• Henry Foulk – another Golden Bear alum and assistant coach – is in his 25th year of mentoring the goalkeepers at his alma mater
• Foulk (Cal '84) is featured in the 2025 fall edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly for his work in producing numerous goalies who have matriculated to the professional ranks, including current pros Stefan Frei (Seattle Sounders FC, MLS), Drake Callender (Charlotte FC, MLS), David Bingham (Charlotte FC, MLS) and Jonathan Klinsmann (Cesena FC, Italy Serie B)

 
Scouting the Blue Devils

• Duke has recorded the most corner kicks in the ACC (129) and produced the second-most shots (307) in the conference
• Midfielder Alessandro Arlotti leads the Blue Devils in points (19), is tied with midfielder Kenan Hot for the lead in goals (7) and is tied with midfielder Drew Kerr for the lead in assists (5)
• Arlotti and Hot are tied with Cal's Luka Lukic for seventh-most goals in the ACC
• Hot is tied for third in assists (4) with midfielder Leonardo D'Ambrosio
• Forward Ulfur Bjornsson ranks third in the ACC in shots per game (3.46), while Hot ranks seventh (2.80)
• Hot also ranked ninth in the ACC in shots on goal per game (1.20)
• Goalkeeper Eryk Dymora has posted a 0.76 GAA to rank third in the ACC, a 0.761 save percentage (5th ACC) and seven shutouts (3rd ACC)
• John Kerr is in his 18th year as Duke's head coach

 
Bears In The Pros
Cal has continued its tradition of producing talented alumni who move onto the professional ranks, with 15 erstwhile Golden Bears playing in the pros in the United States and abroad in 2025. Two Cal alums play in Europe in goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann (Cesena FC, Italian Serie B) – who was named to a pair of USMNT friendlies in September – and midfielder JJ Foe Nuphaus (Thisted FC, Denmark Second Division). The erstwhile Bears playing in MLS are goalkeeper David Bingham (Charlotte FC), goalkeeper Drake Callender (Charlotte FC), goalkeeper Stefan Frei (Seattle Sounders FC), defender Sam Junqua (Real Salt Lake), defender Nike Lima (San Jose Earthquakes) and defender Wyatt Meyer (Nashville SC). Two former Cal teammates play in MLS NEXT Pro, with striker Nonso Adimabua on the roster for The Town FC and defender Kevin Carmichael with Huntsville City FC. Four former Bears play in the USL Championship in brothers Taylor and Evan Davila – both are midfielders with Louisville City FC – midfielder Jose Carrera Garcia (Forward Madison FC) and midfielder Jack Singer (Las Vegas Lights FC). Rounding out the list is forward Jonathan Estrada, who plays for Irvine Zeta FC in the NISA.
 
Next Time
If the Bears defeat Duke, they would advance to Sunday's quarterfinal round to play the winner of the first-round match between fourth-seeded Clemson and 13th-seeded Pitt, with the venue and time to be determined.
 
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