2017 Launches with Pre-Season Friendly at Cal Berkeley

The University of California Berkeley Bears invited Barbary Coast to a friendly, pre-season scrimmage held at the California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.

Barbary jumped out to an early lead over a talented Bears team with Yosef Becher and Logan Quinn getting the BC office rolling with a pair of back-to-back goals. A disciplined and well-coached Bears team controlled the face-off X for the majority of the game, placing pressure on the BC midfield and defense to get the ball back and clear effectively. Barbary long poles Mik Tareen, Frank “Low-to-High, Over-the-Goal” Cuneo, and Tommy Gibbons were up to the task, putting the ball on the ground and clearing under duress. Persistent dodging efforts from Kevin Nguygen, Max Tcheyan, and Colin Short led to goals from Kevin Busch, Dean Granoff, and Skyler Hopkins, among others. BC leaned heavily on its middies to keep up with a well-conditioned Cal team, relying on ball control from Logan Quinn, Steve Caditz, and Kyle “Just too damn fast” Jordan. Displaying almost offensive levels of goal-keeping ability, Tyler Page made a slew of door-step saves and snagged a several key ground balls throughout the game.

The third annual BC-Cal pre-season scrimmage was a teaching moment for all, Cal worked their offense against several defensive looks they’ll face in the coming weeks and got to test out several riding/clearing schemes they’ve been installing in an added “5th quarter” of play. Meanwhile BC was humbled by the effects of a 6-month off-season and impressed by the level of talent and hustle from the Golden Bears – looking forward to their success in 2017.

A substantial and sincere thank you to the Cal Bears and head coach Ned Webster for including BC in a strong pre-season trial for both teams. Best of luck to our cross-Bay friends as they kick off their MCLA season in a game against UC Davis under the lights on February 3rd at 7:00 pm.