Aug. 31, 2008

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LOS ANGELES -California midfielder Servando Carrasco scored with a little over three minutes remaining in regulation to give the Bears the win, 1-0, against No. 8 Maryland on Sunday afternoon at Drake Stadium on the campus of UCLA.

Carrasco got a ball from Andrew Wiedeman 20 yards from the goal that brought out a diving Terrapin goalkeeper Zac MacMath. A collision at midfield looked like it could go as a foul against Cal, but Wiedeman ended up with the ball and passed it through to Carrasco who just got by MacMath and tapped the ball in from close range for the lone score of the game.

Maryland, despite out-shooting Cal, 15-12, ran up against one of the finest goalkeepers in the nation in 2007 First-Team All-American Stefan Frei, who tallied five saves in the contest. MacMath had a solid first career start, shutting out the Bears nearly 87 minutes before the Carrasco score. The freshman had six saves, including five in the second half.

Five freshmen played significant minutes for the Terps, including MacMath, Casey Townsend, Matt Kassel, Matt Oduaran and Alex Lee. Townsend left the game midway through the first half and fellow starter Jason Herrick was unavailable for the entirety of the contest. Both players are expected to be back in action by next weekend.

Maryland had several close calls offensively, including an Omar Gonzalez header that scored but was later called back due to an offside call.

"It is a tough loss to take because we played extremely well and deserved a much better outcome," head coach Sasho Cirovski said. "I am real proud of how the team came out after Friday's win.

"We created enough opportunities...just some things didn't go our way."

The Terps return to the friendly confines of Ludwig Field next weekend when they play host to Hartford on Friday and Davidson on Sunday. Friday's game is at 8 p.m. and Sunday's kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.