A men’s soccer conference title has eluded Stanford since 2001. In Monday night’s Pac-12 match against visiting Cal, it was the back of the net that the Cardinal found elusive for much of the evening. The No. 13 Cardinal and No. 18 Bears played to a 1-1 draw after 110 minutes of soccer had elapsed, inclusive of two 10-minute overtime periods as 1,022 spectators looked on.

Stanford (8-2-2, 2-1-2 Pac-12) missed out on a chance to tie UCLA (3-1-1 Pac-12) and Washington (3-1-1 Pac-12) for a share of first place, at least until the Bruins and Huskies meet in Seattle on Thursday. The tie was frustrating for Cardinal coach Jeremy Gunn, who saw his team outshoot the Bears 35-16.

“We created a lot of good chances, but we couldn’t finish,” Gunn said. “We played an excellent second half. It got to the point where I was rolling my head. Then again, I bet Cal was feeling the same way about their chances.”

The Bears (8-3-1, 2-2-1 Pac-12) struck in the sixth minute when Jose Carrera-Garcia rifled a shot past Cardinal keeper Andrew Epstein. The assists went to Connor Hallisey and Max Oldham. Hallisey is one of the leading scorers in the nation with 23 points.

Stanford nearly equalized right away on a beautiful cross from Corey Baird to Bobby Edwards, whose header was saved by Bears goalie Justin Taillole. Edwards had a strong game for the Cardinal, doing a lot of creating from his midfield position.

Cal’s Nick Lima dribbled past two Cardinal defenders, only to have his hard shot saved by Epstein in the 24th minute. Minutes later, Cal’s Paul Salcedo hit the left post with a shot.

“We dodged a lot of bullets,” Gunn said. “So did they.”

The Cardinal almost had a goal right before the end of the first half when Jordan Morris stole the ball in the Cal box, dribbled to his right, shooting one high over goal. Morris could only bury his head in his hands in despair.

Morris had just come out of the game for a rest in the 74th minute when the Cardinal evened the score. Edwards took a corner from the right side. The ball was initially headed, but Taillole repelled it. The ball wasn’t cleared and bounced to Zachary Batteer, who chested the ball into goal in the 75th minute.

“I tried to make myself big,” Batteer said. “It was like a pinball.”

Stanford’s Slater Meehan hit a low liner that went over the top post a minute later. Foster Langsdorf had a left-footer for Stanford go wide in the 82nd minute as the near-misses continued for the Cardinal.

Edwards delivered a shot that hit the top post seven minutes into the first overtime, the ball a few inches away from going into goal.

Cal’s Stefano Bonomo, a Burlingame High product, had an open look in the first minute of the second overtime, but his left-footed shot was wide of goal. A Cal player was fouled by Stanford’s Brian Nana-Sinkam outside the box, setting up a direct kick by Seth Casiple, who drilled a shot that hit the left side of the net.

Stanford had one more chance when Brandon Vincent’s cross was right-footed high over the goal by Morris in the 107th minute.

Taillole had 13 saves for the Bears with Epstein recording six saves.

“Cal is a good team,” Batteer said. “We have nothing to hang our heads about.”

“Their goal gave them the confidence,” Gunn said. “I was disappointed with the goal they scored. It was a good goal, but we didn’t defend it well.”