Cal leaves the No. 1 Panthers agitated at the Ambrose

Cal men’s soccer (4-5-2, 1-3-2 ACC) claimed a historic first ACC win, running away with a 1-0 victory over No. 1 Pitt men’s soccer (10-2-0, 4-1-0 ACC). In its first season in the ACC, Cal had made an unassuming start in the conference, failing to muster a win in its first five competitions.

Despite a packed house, Pitt failed to make the home field advantage count, slumping to a 1-0 loss to California in the pair’s first confrontation on the soccer field.

Looking to build on a seven-game winning streak, Pitt faced a team with nearly the same squad as in the 2-0 win over No. 6 Denver, including the return in goal of junior goalkeeper Cabral Carter. 

The relatively unchanged Panthers side displayed a similar dominance of the ball using their high press to force Cal to stay on defense throughout large periods of the game. But Pitt still lost thanks to the heroics of Cal junior goalkeeper Marco Brougher.

Senior forward Luis Sahmkow was vital for the Panthers early on, bringing the midfielders around him into the game by holding off the defenders and strengthening Pitt’s numbers while attacking. Sahmkow has proved his worth as a forward this season, securing eight goals as one of the ACC’s most prolific finishers. 

As the game proceeded, Cal closed the gaps and didn’t allow any space for Sahmkow to operate, reducing his impact. The forward had a penalty shot denied and won’t look back on this match fondly.

The Golden Bears came to Pittsburgh having conceded only 1.3 goals a game, putting up one of the most impressive defenses in the ACC. So, it came as no surprise Cal set up in a rigid formation to slow down the Panthers’ attack. Cal defended valiantly throughout the game and counter-attacked effectively to deliver a sucker punch blow to Pitt.

“This game — margin for error, importance of a goal — their first goal put a knife in us,”

Jay Vidovich said.

In just the second minute, Pitt had a massive chance to break the deadlock as the ball was

forced to the left-hand side before ricocheting around the box and falling to first-year forward Miguel Bertran, who failed to score around the Golden Bear defenders.

Pitt used this early chance to immediately push Cal back in the early exchanges,

dominating the ball for the first 15 minutes. But this period also provided a chance to the visitors as Pitt sloppily gave the ball away in the 14th minute and subsequently brought the Cal attacker down, giving the Golden Bears a free kick in a dangerous area. But, Pitt stopped Cal from finding the back of the net.

The sloppiness from the hosts continued as junior goalkeeper Cabral Carter played his defender into trouble in the 21st minute as he got pressured. After a loose first touch by the Pitt defender, Cal’s fifth-year forward Nonso Adimabua snatched up the opportunity and poked the ball into an empty net.

Pittsburgh restarted with speed to its play, and less than 60 seconds later tested Cal’s keeper low to his right side. But once again, Pitt couldn’t convert. 

Pitt faltered in attacking, struggling to create chances, with no real tests for Brougher in the first half, with seven attempts while having 79% possession.

Into the second half, the Panthers prowled for an equalizer, but a congested California whose well-drilled defense offered no space in the center of the park left the Panthers stumped.

“They defended very well,” Vidovich said. “When we did get it entered into the box there was

nowhere really to go, they already had six guys ready to go.”

Pitt’s biggest chance came in the 80th minute as junior forward Eben McIntyre stormed towards the goal after catching Cal unaware. McIntyre beat the Cal goalkeeper to the ball and got tackled by Brougher in the box, earning a penalty kick.

After a quick review to confirm the penalty, Pitt’s top scorer Sahmkow stepped up to take the penalty, nut the Golden Bears keeper denied the goal with a brilliant stop.

Aided by this newfound adrenaline, Cal counted the clock down and managed to see out its first conference victory and begin defining its season.

Pitt men’s soccer returns to the field on Monday, Oct. 14, against High Point, where the Panthers will look to rebound from this frustrating first conference loss of the season.