It happens to the best sports programs: every team faces a non-conference game against a mediocre foe with little on the line. And the Cal men’s soccer team will be no exception this coming Sunday.
The 2 p.m. match between Cal and the University of San Francisco at Edwards Stadium is no soccer classic. Both teams are not powerhouses; neither is in the top 25. The Dons are no first-time opponents, either — they have played the Bears for decades.
But for Bears’ coach Kevin Grimes, preparations for the match haven’t changed one bit. While safeguarding all tactical information about both teams, Grimes treated the USF match with the same intensity as if it were the NCAA title match.
“The most important thing for us is to prepare the best as we can for this match,” Grimes said.
So far this season, Cal (3-2) has had an up-and-down campaign. In their past two tilts, the Bears have torn apart University of Central Florida and Houston Baptist at home. Cal outscored both opponents, 9-1. The Bears displayed shades of the 2010 team that advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.
But just a week before at Virginia and Maryland, Cal lost back-to-back battles and looked especially bruised in its 6-0 blowout against No. 3 Terrapins.
The Bears came back to California licking their wounds. So far, the wounds haven’t fully healed.
As of now, the Bears are not at optimal fitness to compete at full strength against USF. After a Tuesday 11:30 a.m. match against Houston Baptist, the usual Wednesday and Thursday morning practices were cancelled. They was replaced with activities that focused on fighting fatigue and healing sore muscles.
“We’re working on a lot of recovery,” Grimes said. “We are doing different types of therapy. We are focusing on getting the legs rejuvenated.”
With a whole week of rest, the Dons are coming to Berkeley in full strength. Unlike Cal, USF has only played squads in the Bay Area, saving the players the stress and wear of a long away trip. Since losing the season opener to Stanford, 1-0, the Dons won two of their last three matches.
The Dons’ offense is led by sophomores Sixto Porras and Taylor Krueger, who each lead the team in goal and assists, respectively. Porras, who played limited time last year, scored both his goals this season in the 2-0 win at San Jose State three weeks ago. Midfielder Krueger has been the creative engine of the squad, assisting for three of the six team total goals this season.
In the past two games, the Cal defense has looked stalwart in containing the opposing attacks — but still looked shaky at times. The defense line was exposed at times by the quick UCF strikers last weekend, and the defenders still feels it needs more time to gel together.
“The back line needed time to adjust to one another,” senior defender Ted Jones said. “We needed to adjust to communicating with one another.”
Four weeks since the season opener, the Bears so far haven’t shown a consistent narrative.
And the first step will be this Sunday at Berkeley against the Dons.
Seung Y. Lee covers men’s soccer. Contact him at [email protected]
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