Oct. 13, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

This Week
Tenth/thirteenth-ranked California (8-3-0 overall, 2-1-0 Pac-10) hits the road to play its next two Pac-10 Conference games, at No. 2/4 UCLA (6-1-2, 1-0-2) at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16, and at San Diego State (3-3-4, 0-1-2) at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 18. The Golden Bears are ranked No. 10 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll and No. 13 in the Soccer America poll. Cal is tabbed No. 15 in the NCAA Men's Soccer RPI.

Scouting the Golden Bears
Cal lost to Washington, 2-0, on Oct. 9 and rebounded to defeat Oregon State, 4-1, on Oct. 11 at Edwards Stadium in Berkeley. The Washington match marked Cal's first home loss and first shutout loss of the season. The Bears had their share of chances to score, particularly early and then late, but were unlucky against a good Huskies team. Senior defender Jacob Wilson returned to Cal's starting lineup after missing three games due to injury.

Senior forward Jeff Cosgriff scored his first career hat trick and Cal's first hat trick of the season to power the Bears to the win over the Beavers. Junior forward Andrew Wiedeman scored Cal's fourth goal. Wiedeman continues to lead the Bears in goals (10), points (23) and game-winning goals (5); he also has three assists.

Cosgriff ranks second at Cal in points (16), goals (6) and assists (4). Junior midfielder Hector Jimenez (1 goal, 8 assists) paces Cal in assists and ranks third in points (10).

Wiedeman leads the Pac-10 in points, goals per game (0.91) and goals scored (10). He ranks second in points per game (2.09). Wiedeman's marks in goals per game and points per game rank fifth and sixth in the NCAA, respectively. Jimenez ranks second in the NCAA in assists per game (0.73). The Bears rank 11th nationally in scoring offense (2.27).

Cal sophomore goalkeeper David Bingham has compiled a 0.81 goals-against average in nine starts. Robby Gogatz has a 0.85 GAA in five games. Gogatz, a freshman goalie, replaced the injured Bingham in the Washington match and started against Oregon State. Cal freshman midfielder Chris Ortega is the brother of an SDSU midfielder, Daniel Ortega.

Last Time vs. UCLA, San Diego State
In 2008, Cal lost to UCLA, 3-2, on Oct. 10 and tied SDSU, 1-1, on Oct. 12 in Berkeley. Cal tied the Bruins, 0-0, on Oct. 31 in Los Angeles and lost to SDSU, 1-0, on Nov. 2 in San Diego.

Scouting the Opposition
UCLA is ranked No. 2 by Soccer America, No. 4 by the NSCAA and No. 3 by the NCAA RPI. U.S. under-20 national team midfielder Kyle Nakazawa leads UCLA in points (20), goals (8) and game-winning goals (3). Senior goalie Brian Perk, another U.S. U-20 player, has a 0.85 GAA in four starts. Sophomore Brian Rowe has a 0.85 GAA (7 games, 5 starts). Senior defender/midfielder Danny Suits is the brother of Cal women's midfielder Katie Suits.

Former Bruins player Jorge Salcedo is in his sixth year as head coach at UCLA.

San Diego State, which tied UCLA, 2-2, on Oct. 11 in San Diego, is unranked in the major polls and holds a No. 56 spot in the NCAA RPI. Before hosting Cal, the Aztecs host Stanford at 4 p.m. on Oct. 16. Senior midfielder Evan Toft leads the Aztecs in points (10) and goals (4). Junior goalie Brad Byrns, who made six saves in a 4-2 upset of then-No. 6 UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 25, has a 1.31 GAA in nine starts for SDSU.

The Aztecs' Lev Kirshner is in his 10th season as the head coach at his alma mater.

Next Week
Cal returns to Berkeley to host UCLA and San Diego State, with the game against the Bruins scheduled for 4 p.m. on Oct. 23 and the SDSU match is slated for 2 p.m. on Oct. 25.