Nov. 6, 2012

BERKELEY - California closes its regular season with the home half of the Bay Area Derby with Stanford at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 9, at Edwards Stadium. Prior to the match, the Golden Bears will honor their six seniors - Kyle Marsh, Michael Munoz, Ted Jones, John Fitzpatrick, Tony Salciccia and Kyle Lunt - who will play in their final regular-season home game as part of Senior Day. The Bears bring an 8-6-3 record (3-4-2 in the Pac-12) into the battle with their archrival, which has an 8-8-1 (4-41 Pac-12) record.

Cal has a 21-22-9 record in the all-time series with Stanford.

Cal on TV
This will be the eighth Cal game to air on the Pac-12 Networks. Allen Hopkins (play-by-play) and Brian Dunseth (color) will call the Stanford match for the Pac-12 Networks.

Scouting the Bears
• Cal earned a hard-fought, 1-1 tie in double overtime at No. 4/5 UCLA on Nov. 4 in Los Angeles
• Junior midfielder Alec Sundly scored his third goal of the year against the Bruins
• Kevin Peach - who has a 1.14 goals-against average - faced 28 shots and made five saves in L.A.
• Senior midfielder Tony Salciccia leads Cal in points (15), is tied for the team high in goals (5) and ranks second on the squad in assists (5) and game-winning goals (2)
• Sophomore midfielder and 2011 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Seth Casiple paces the Bears in assists (7) and ranks second in points (11)
• Sophomore forward Stefano Bonomo is tied with Salciccia for the team lead in goals (5) and ranks third in points (10)
• Kyle Marsh, a redshirt junior defender/midfielder, is a senior academically and will be graduating this spring
• Kevin Grimes is in his 13th season as head coach of Cal

Scouting the Cardinal
• Stanford routed San Diego State, 4-0, on Nov. 3 in San Diego in its last match; the Cardinal previously lost at No. 4/5 UCLA, 2-1, in double overtime
• Adam Jahn leads Stanford in points (24), goals (10), assists (4) and game-winning goals (3)
• Junior goalie Drew Hutchins holds a 1.21 GAA in 16 starts
• Jeremy Gunn is in his first season as Stanford's head coach; he earned the NSCAA Coach of the Year award after leading UNC-Charlotte to an NCAA runner-up finish in 2011

Last Time Against Stanford
Cal created a multitude of chances but fell 2-0 to Stanford on Oct. 4 at Cagan Stadium. The Golden Bears fell to 6-4-1 (1-2-0 in the Pac-12), while the Cardinal improved to 5-5-0 (2-1-0 Pac-12) after Zach Batteer scored once in each half.

Both teams created their share of chances in what looked to be a 0-0 first half, until, with 18 seconds remaining, Dersu Abolfathi crossed from the flank to Batteer, who headed in his first goal past diving sophomore goalkeeper Kevin Peach. Stanford took that 1-0 lead into halftime.

Cal outshot Stanford, 9-8, in the first half, forcing Cardinal goalie Drew Hutchins into making five saves.

At 78:09, Bobby Edwards crossed to Batteer, who again headed past Peach to give Stanford its 2-0 lead.

Cal's last best chance came in the 84th minute. Senior midfielder Tony Salciccia took a corner kick and found sophomore forward Stefano Bonomo on the near post. At a difficult angle, Bonomo flicked the header across the goal mouth and wide of the goal at 83:35.

At 89:39, with Cal's last shot on the night, Salciccia shot wide.

The Bears outshot the Cardinal, 19-16, though 90 minutes. Peach made four saves, while Hutchins made seven. Stanford recorded 22 fouls to Cal's 16.

Birnbaum Named Finalist for Senior CLASS Award Cal defender and co-captain Steve Birnbaum was named one of 10 finalists for the 2012 Senior CLASS Award, which honors student-athletes who excel both on and off the field. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website through Nov. 19. Fans can vote on that page - and vote once per day - through midnight CT on the final day of voting. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches' votes to determine the winner.

The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2012 NCAA Men's College Cup, which will take place Dec. 7 and 9 in Hoover, Ala.

Bonomo Honored Twice for Heroics Against Duquesne, LMU
College Soccer News and Muscle Milk honored Stefano Bonomo after the Golden Bear scored three goals - including both gamewinners - in Cal's 4-1 rout of Duquesne on Sept. 21 and its Sept. 23 win over Loyola Marymount, 1-0. The sophomore forward earned a spot on the College Soccer News Team of the Week and earned the California Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week laurel on Sept. 24.

Bonomo scored twice in Cal's 4-1 rout of Duquesne on Sept. 21 at Edwards Stadium. He scored an eighth-minute goal in the Bears' 1-0 win over Loyola Marymount on Sept. 23 on Goldman Field.

This is the second time that has been Cal honored by CSN and Muscle Milk this season, as senior midfielder Tony Salciccia earned CSN Team of the Week recognition for the week ending Sept. 9 and collected the Muscle Milk award after he scored the winner in the 2-1 season opener against Santa Clara on Aug. 24.

Salciccia Earns CSN Team of the Week Berth
Tony Salciccia scored a goal and collected an assist in Cal's 4-1 win over Central Florida on Sept. 7 to garner College Soccer News Team of the Week recognition. The co-captain scored in the 31st minute to give Cal a 1-0 lead over the Knights. In the 83rd minute, Salciccia slipped a through ball to set up Kyle Marsh for the junior defender's first goal of the season and cap the scoring at 4-1.

Muscle Milk Honors Salciccia After Season Opener
Tony Salciccia scored the game-winning goal and led California men's soccer to victory in its season opener against Santa Clara on Aug. 24, garnering the senior midfielder the second California Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week honor of the year.

Grimes Rises to Second on Cal Wins List
Head coach Kevin Grimes moved into second place on the all-time Cal wins list with his 132nd career win against Santa Clara. He moved ahead of Julius Schroeder (131) and behind all-time leader Bob DiGrazia (202). A five-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Grimes averaged 10.9 wins per year in his first 12 seasons in Berkeley. His current all-time record stands at 137-83-31.

Birnbaum Garners College Soccer News Honor
College Soccer News named senior defender Steve Birnbaum to its preseason All-America team, the publication announced on Aug. 20. The All-Pac-12 First-Team honoree started 36 games for Cal over the last two seasons and is one of three co-captains for the Bears.

Alum Jacob Wilson Signs With CD Feirense
Jacob Wilson became the 18th Cal alumnus to join the professional ranks when he signed with Portugal Second Division team CD Feirense. A Cal player from 2005-09, he is one of three former Golden Bears - including Anthony Avalos, who plays with Norway's SK Vard Haugesund, and Leo Krupnik, with Israel's Maccabi Netanya - who plays professionally abroad. Thirteen former Bears play professionally in Major League Soccer.

The Bears in MLS are in MLS are Luke Sassano and Eric Kronberg (Sporting Kansas City), Andrew Jacobson and Andrew Wiedeman (FC Dallas), Hector Jimenez and Josh Saunders (Los Angeles Galaxy), David Bingham (San Jose Earthquakes), Calen Carr (Houston Dynamo), Servando Carrasco (Seattle Sounders FC), Stefan Frei (Toronto FC), Steve Purdy (Portland Timbers), A.J. Soares (New England Revolution) and Tyson Wahl (Colorado Rapids).

Former Bear Troy Roberts plays for the Rochester Rhinos in the USSF Division 2 Pro League, while Evan Sassano plays for Minnesota Stars FC of the North American Soccer League.

A Golden Olympics for the Golden Bears
A total of 46 Golden Bear athletes, coaches and staff members represented Cal during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and together, they brought home a school-record-tying 17 medals (11 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze). The Bears have won 50 medals over the past three Olympics (16 in 2004, 17 in 2008, 17 in 2012), and they have captured 178 medals all-time (99 gold).

Cal No. 1 Public University in the Country
The University of California is the No. 1-ranked public university in the United States, according to U.S. News and World Report. The faculty has won 22 Nobel Prizes, including nine current members, while 28 alumni have received a Nobel Prize. A National Research Council analysis of U.S. universities concluded that the campus has the largest number of highly ranked graduate programs in the country (48 of 52). Cal also has a long commitment to public service, with more than 4,000 students annually doing volunteer work and more than 3,000 Peace Corps participants all-time.