The Cal men’s soccer team was selected to play in the 2019 NCAA tournament this morning. The Bears will travel to No. 16 UC Santa Barbara on Thursday for the first round. The winner will take on St. Mary’s.
Cal beat the Gauchos 3-0 on the road in early September. Following road wins against two more highly ranked teams — Washington and Stanford in the last two weeks of the season — Grimes urged his team to be ready in case the selection committee called its name.
“I just told them that the next three days we have to prepare like we have another game. We’re not sure if we do, but we have to be considered because of those three wins on the road against some top RPI teams. We have to be in consideration for the playoff,” Grimes said.
Cal missed the playoffs last year after finishing with an overall record of 7-9-2, and exited in the first round against the University of San Francisco in 2017.
