Kevin Grimes

A reversal of the early season misfortunes has proven head coach Kevin Grimes’ philosophy to be true. The Bears are just a few steps away from becoming the team they set out to be during their abbreviated preseason.

UCLA has also experienced a rough start to its spring season, as the Bruins are currently 1-4-1 and riding a three-game losing streak.

The afternoon became a back-and-forth affair, with Cal delivering the knockout blow to a weakened San Diego State defense after the Aztecs picked up a red card in the 72nd minute.

The Bears are winless through three matches for the first time since the 2003-04 season and have failed to score in their last two games.

By the 34th minute, down 3-0, the Bears seemed to accept defeat. Even in potential counter-attacking situations, players watched as haphazard, head-down runs down the sidelines amounted to nothing.

The Bears may start playing well and earning results in the near future, but if things do not start “clicking” soon for Cal, a historically poor season is a real possibility.

The Bears had success in weaving the ball through the resolute Huskies’ defense, but ultimately, attacking chances came sparingly.

Cal heads right back into battle Saturday against defending conference champion Washington, which since 2011 has racked up a 12-3-2 record over Cal.

Surprisingly enough, the Bears did not allow a single goal from open play. Instead, all three Cardinal goals came off of set pieces.

In the last installment of the Big Clasico, back in November of 2019, Cal upset then-No. 4 Stanford 1-0 in Palo Alto. The Cardinal will no doubt be keen to redeem themselves.