California
6-5-5, 2-4-2
North Carolina
8-2-6, 3-1-4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| North Carolina | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
11/4/2026 8:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Bears' ACC Tournament Comes To An End In The First Round
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – No. 10 California men's soccer was knocked out of the ACC Tournament in the first round by No. 7 North Carolina. Regulation ended in a 1-1 tie, and after two scoreless overtime periods, the Golden Bears were defeated 4-3 in penalty kicks.
The match opened as a back-and-forth battle, but Cal struck first when Malcolm Zalayet scored in the 23rd minute, assisted by Callen Lewis. The first half ended with the Bears in front, 1-0, but North Carolina outshot Cal 10-2 and held 71 percent of possession.
The second half was a defensive effort for the Bears, who looked poised to shut out the Tar Heels. However, in the 83rd minute, North Carolina broke through and knotted the match at 1-1. Neither team would score again in regulation, sending the Bears and Tar Heels into overtime.
After two 10-minute overtime periods, neither team could find the golden goal, and the match headed to penalty kicks. The Tar Heels scored on their opening attempt, while the Bears missed their first, putting Cal in an early 1-0 deficit. However, goals from Zalayet and D'Andre Pickett, along with a save from Thomas Grimes, tied the shootout at 2-2. North Carolina scored on its fourth attempt, and Lucca Guimaraes evened the score at 3-3 with his attempt. In the fifth round of the shootout, the Tar Heels converted their attempt, but the Bears could not respond, allowing North Carolina to advance to the second round with a 4-3 penalty-kick victory.
At the conclusion of regulation and overtime, Cal was outshot 23-7 and held just 35 percent of possession. Grimes recorded five saves in the match, including three in overtime. This marks Cal's first first-round exit in the ACC Tournament since joining the conference three seasons ago. The Bears advanced to the tournament semifinals in each of their first two seasons in the ACC.
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Players Mentioned
Team Stats
Malcolm Zalayet (3)
Assisted By: Callen Lewis
GOAL by CAL Zalayet, Malcolm Assist by Lewis, Callen.
22:08
Joschi Schelb (16)
Assisted By: Bertil Rygaard Hansen , Max Fisher
GOAL by UNC Schelb, Joschi Assist by Rygaard Hansen, Bertil and Fisher, Max.
82:06
