Cal Defeats Saint Mary’s 1-0

BERKELEY – Fahmi Ibrahim’s 81st-minute goal gave the Cal men’s soccer team a 1-0 victory over Saint Mary’s on Sunday at Edwards Stadium, as the Golden Bears improved their record to 3-2-3 after the nonconference win.
 
The Gaels are now 5-3-1.
 
“It was a gritty performance, and we knew it was going to take that if we wanted to get the result,” said Cal head coach Leonard Griffin, whose Bears have won three of their last four games. “Saint Mary’s is always a difficult team to play against. I’m proud of our guys for rolling up their sleeves, going to battle with them and matching their intensity. We were fortunate to get the goal to put us ahead and were able to see it out.”
 
Sunday’s match was close – Saint Mary’s outshot Cal, 15-14. But the Bears got another strong performance from goalkeeper Collin Travasos, who made six saves to earn his third shutout of the season. Travasos was also involved on the scoring play.
 
With the game tied 0-0 after 80 minutes, Travasos collected the ball near the top of his penalty area and threw a long outlet pass to Juan Martinez on the flank. The midfielder found Ibrahim streaking into the Gaels’ goal, and the senior forward fired the ball inside the near post to beat goalie Kash Oladapo. Ibrahim is now tied with Shoei Honda for the team lead in goals (3) and points (6).
 
“I ran into the space, Juan passed into the space and I just scored,” Ibrahim said. “I scored it, but it was my teammates who got me the ball, and I’m appreciative of my…