Cal’s path to the men’s NCAA soccer tournament got a lot narrower Wednesday night.
The Bears were one save away from leaving Chapel Hill with a result that could have strengthened their postseason case, but North Carolina goalkeeper Alan Rutkowski stopped Jack Bowers’ final attempt in the penalty-kick shootout to send Cal home with a 4-3 loss after a 1-1 draw.
Cal still has a chance to hear its name called when the 48-team field is announced on November 16, but that chance now looks slim. The Bears entered the ACC tournament on the bubble and needed at least one win, and maybe more, to feel secure about a berth.
Instead, the 10th-seeded Bears nearly pulled off the upset against seventh-seeded North Carolina on the road before the Tar Heels erased a late deficit and survived the shootout.
Malcolm Zalayet put Cal in front in the 23rd minute with a goal that gave the Bears control for most of the night. Cal held that lead until the closing minutes, when Joschi Schelb scored with 7:56 left to level the match and force extra time.
The teams then played two 10-minute overtime periods without a goal, pushing the game to penalties. Both sides converted three of their first four kicks.
In the fifth and final round, Schelb scored for North Carolina, and Bowers had to answer to keep Cal alive. Rutkowski denied him, ending the Bears’ ACC tournament run and likely damaging their NCAA hopes.
Cal finished 6-5-5 overall and 2-4-2 in ACC play, which left the Bears in 10th place. Their RPI ranking of 33 keeps them in the discussion, but the odds are against them now. The ACC is expected to send about half of its 15 soccer schools into the NCAA tournament, and Cal will be waiting to see whether it gets included.
In Other News...
Ron Rivera Just Turned Up The Pressure On Tosh Lupoi
Ron Rivera used a radio appearance to put a public spotlight on Tosh Lupois first season as Cals head coach, and it was not the kind of soft-focus tune-up most first-year coaches get from their own front office. The Bears are moving into the final stretch of the season, and Rivera framed the moment as one where the program has to keep building a stronger foundation while dealing with the realities that come with a young staff and a coach learning on the job.
Rivera also made clear that the next step is less about talk and more about how the team responds when things get difficult. He pointed to the need for better discipline and a cleaner overall approach, while also acknowledging that Lupoi is navigating the steep learning curve of a first-time head coach. For Cal, the message was as much about the future as the present, with Rivera setting expectations for how the program has to look if it is going to move in the right direction. [Read more 🡒]
Cal May Be Becoming A Very Different Team At The Right Time
Mark Madsens Bears have started to look like a different group than the one Cal fans got used to seeing in recent seasons, and the shift is showing up in more than just the box score. The pace has picked up, the ball is moving quicker, and the offense has been getting cleaner looks from the perimeter, with Nojus Indrusaitis emerging as a major part of that change. It has given Cal a more modern feel, one that plays with more urgency and spacing than the program has often shown.
The bigger question now is whether that style can hold up once the schedule tightens. Cal has had to adjust on the defensive end because of player availability, and the Bears are about to find out how much progress they have really made against a pair of ranked opponents. Houston and USC are the kind of tests that can expose whether this is a hot stretch or the start of something more sustainable, especially for a team still sorting out its identity on both ends. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona Gets An Early Defensive Test Fans Should Not Ignore
Arizonas home game against Cal Poly comes with the usual expectation that the Wildcats should control the night, but this is not the kind of early-season matchup to dismiss. The Mustangs bring back a veteran group and have enough continuity to make them more than a routine tune-up, especially with several experienced pieces back in the rotation and a track record of hanging around against stronger opponents.
What makes this one worth watching from a Cal perspective is the way Cal Poly can stretch a defense. The Mustangs have been one of the better perimeter shooting teams in the country, and that kind of spacing can quickly expose lapses if Arizona is still finding its footing. Cal Poly has never beaten the Wildcats, but this is the sort of game that can tell you a lot about how sharp Arizona is on the defensive end before the schedule gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]