NEWTON, Mass. – Malcolm Zalayet scored for the second straight game and Luka Lukic added his team-leading fourth goal of the season to give the California men's soccer team a 2-0 win at Boston College on Sunday in both teams' ACC opener at the Newton Campus Lacrosse & Soccer Field.
 
Cal improved to 3-1-1 (1-0-0 ACC). The Eagles have a 2-3-0 record (0-1-0 ACC).
 
In 2024, the Golden Bears claimed their first conference victory in their sixth ACC game – albeit a notable win in a 1-0 upset at No. 1 Pitt – but they started out unbeaten in conference this year.
 
"It's what you want," Cal head coach Leonard Griffin said. "You prep to compete in one of the toughest conferences in the nation, and to start out with a win, you couldn't ask for much more. We're looking forward to the rest of the conference season."
 
In the 17th minute, a Kieran Bracken Serra corner kick found Malcolm Zalayet in the BC box, and the Cal forward headed the ball into the back of the net for the eventual game-winning goal.
 
A short corner kick led to the second goal, with Noe Morales eventually redirecting a cross into the Eagles' box to Lukic, who tapped the ball into the net from close range to make the score 2-0.
 
Cal has taken advantage of set pieces as a whole to score this season.
 
"I'm extremely happy," Griffin said of the team's production from set pieces. "(High performance coordinator) Philippe Dupont has done a fantastic job with our execution from set pieces. As a staff, we wanted to spend more time on them since they can win or lose you games, and we're happy with how we've done."
 
Cal remains in the Boston area to play a nonconference match at Harvard on Wednesday.
 
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