Cal knocks off No. 2 Duke, advances to ACC semifinals

DURHAM, NC – The California men’s soccer team continued its surge and late-season success at North Carolina State on Sunday by upsetting second-ranked Duke 2-0 at Koskinen Stadium. The Golden Bears got two goals in the first half – a Duke own goal and one Eric Duncan strike – and five saves from Marco Brougher in the victory.

Cal, which improved its record to 8-7-2, next plays seventh-ranked Clemson in the ACC semifinals Thursday at 5:00 PM PT in Cary, North Carolina.

At the 1:58 mark, Cal ahead Nonso Adimabua awarded a free kick when he was adjudged in midfield in an attempt to block Brougher’s long goal kick. Forward Alfredo Ortiz served the free kick in the Duke box, Cal defender Kevin Carmichael headed the ball across the goal and Duke midfielder Kenan Hot – tried to clear the ball while defending Cals Wyatt Meyer – headed the ball into his own net.

The Bears continued to attack and, at 16:37, midfielder Kieran Bracken Serra sent a perfect ball to the top of the six-yard box and the onrushing Duncan sent the ball into the net.

Cal took its 2-0 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the Bears weathered a flurry of Duke chances as the Blue Devils outscored Cal 10-2 in the final 45 minutes and 19-5 for the game. Brougher made three of his saves in the second half.

Brougher and Meyer came up big in the 76th minute when Duke forward Ulfur Bjornsson had a chance to score on a breakaway. Meyer – the 2023 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year – recovered and bothered the Blue Devil enough to affect his shot, allowing Brougher to make an easy save. At 81:34, Brougher saved a deflected shot by Sol Arbib in what was Duke’s final shot on goal of the game.

Cal has now won three straight after losing two of its previous three games. The game before that stretch was a 1-0 upset win at then No. 1 Pitt. The common denominator during the streak and in the win over the Panthers is that all four results came against nationally ranked ACC opponents — No. 1 Pitt, No. 2 Duke, No. 14 North Carolina and No. 22 Stanford — on the road, where Cal is 5 -4-0. Bears are 3-3-2 at home.

“These guys just step over the line and become a different beast down the road,” Cal head coach Leonard Griffin said. “We talked about being on the front foot from the start and we were able to get after them early. Goals change games. They changed this one and we were able to keep the ball out of our net as well. Credit to our guys up front, but just as much credit goes to Kevin Carmichael, Marco Brougher, Wyatt Meyer, Santiago Hopkins and all the guys defending. And we had a fantastic team effort from the bench.

“This is the team we knew we could be. We wish we could take back some of the early games but can only control what’s in front of us. The players have just bought in and believe we can play with anyone.”

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