No. 23 Bears Fall 1-0 at No. 6 Stanford

November 12, 2015

STANFORD, Calif. – California (9-6-2, 4-4-2 Pac-12) fell 1-0 to the No. 6 Stanford Cardinal (14-2-2, 7-1-2 Pac-12) on Thursday night at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium thanks to a seventh minute goal from redshirt freshman Sam Werner against the run of play. Cal outshot the Cardinal 13-5 and held a majority of the possession throughout the course of the match, but were unable to earn the result. Cal has won four of its final five matches to conclude the regular season and closed the Pac-12 campaign by playing very well.

“We played a great match,” head coach Kevin Grimes said following the defeat at Stanford. “perhaps the best we’ve played all year. The only criticism I would have is that with all of the shots we had, we just did not put enough on frame tonight and make the keeper work. That said, everything from our goalkeeper all the way to the final endpoint was dynamite tonight. We simply just need to do a better job of putting shots on frame and getting something from all of those chances and great looks we had.”

The Bears nearly jumped in front in the fourth minute, when junior forward Christian Thierjung played a solid square ball to junior midfielder Trevor Haberkorn at the top of the penalty area. His shot from about 20-yards out went begging, just inches wide of the far post.

It was the Cardinal however, whoever took the early advantage against the run of play. Sophomore forward Corey Baird played Werner in at the corner of the box, and his quick strike found the bottom corner for his second goal in as many games, after scoring in the loss at Washington for the home side.

California sought an equalizer and almost had it on several occasions. In the 34^th minute, a bad giveaway by the Stanford defense in their defensive third was intercepted by Thierjung. His run took him into the penalty area, but he was unable to make Stanford pay on this effort, as his shot went wide at the near post. Five minutes later, some good combination play by the Bears, started with a give-and-go between Thierjung and Haberkorn, and then Haberkorn slid it across to Chasman, who forced a save from junior Andrew Epstein.

The Bears best chance came in the 43^rd minute, however, as Thierjung played a deft chip into the corner for freshman defender Sam Junqua, who played a low, driven cross into the box. It took a wayward deflection off of a Cardinal defender, and Epstein was able to keep it out.

Cal continued to threaten in the second half, creating chance after chance, but they were unable to break through and solve the Stanford defense. The best chance to pull the match on level terms came in the 52^nd minute, when sophomore midfielder Aravind Sivakumar took on his defender and sent a curling effort just inches wide of the far post.

The Golden Bears now await their NCAA Tournament fate, which will be decided on the official selection show on Monday, Nov. 16 at 10 a.m. PT. Fans are encouraged to interact with @CalMensSoccer on Twitter and Instagram and CalMensSoccer on Facebook for the most up to date news and content.