Cal Poly Pursues Big West Regular Season Title on the Road

Thursday, October 28

Long Beach, CA / George Allen Field

6:00 PM

Long Beach State

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

Cal Poly Pursues Big West Regular Season Title on the Road

10/27/2021 11:50:00 AM | Women's Soccer

SAN LUIS OBISPO – With the opportunity to secure the program's first Big West Conference regular season title in eight years, the Cal Poly women's soccer team completes its 2021 schedule when visiting second place Long Beach State on Thursday, Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. and third place UC Irvine on Sunday, Oct. 31 at 2 p.m. The only program to have clinched a spot for the four-team, Nov. 4 and 7 Big West Tournament, first place Cal Poly (11-6-0, 7-1-0) – with 21 points – enters Thursday's match at Long Beach State (9-5-2, 6-1-1) leading the 49ers by two points. UC Irvine (11-5-0, 6-2-0), meanwhile, trails in third place on 18 points. A Cal Poly victory at Long Beach State on Thursday coupled with a UC Irvine loss or draw versus UC Santa Barbara would hand the Mustangs their first regular season title since 2013. As the field's No. 1 seed, Cal Poly – selected to finish seventh in August's Big West preseason coaches poll – would also host this season's Big West Tournament. The Big West's second highest scoring team and ranked 37th among 335 NCAA Division I programs with 36 goals, Cal Poly has outscored conference opponents, 19-8. Long Beach State, which has allowed a Big West low 13 goals, enters Thursday's match having won three successive 1-0 matches to keep pace with Cal Poly. Winners of six of its last seven games, UC Irvine leads the Big West with 37 goals after winning its last two matches by a combined 11-1 scoreline.

FOLLOW CAL POLY THIS WEEK: Zachary Anderson-Yoxsimer will provide play-by-play for Thursday's matchup at Long Beach State and Sunday's season finale at UC Irvine for GoPoly.com HERE … live stats and video will also be available via GoPoly.com HERE.

CAL POLY VERSUS LONG BEACH STATE: Cal Poly looks to snap a two-game slide against Long Beach State with the 49ers prevailing in the last matchup between the two sides on Oct. 3, 2019, 2-1. Cal Poly also seeks its first win at Long Beach State since a 3-0 victory on Oct. 3, 2014. Cal Poly leads the all-time series, 12-9-4.

CAL POLY VERSUS UC IRVINE: Cal Poly has won just one of the previous four matchups with UC Irvine, prevailing at home in overtime on Nov. 1, 2019, 3-2. The Mustangs also seek their first road win against UC Irvine since a 2-1 victory on Oct. 17, 2014. Cal Poly leads the all-time series, 19-11-2.

WINS IN PERSPECTIVE: Cal Poly's 11-win total is the program's highest since winning 11 times en route to the 2013 Big West regular season title. One more victory would provide Cal Poly its highest win total since finishing 14-5-1 in 2009.

POINTS OF PRIDE: Cal Poly's 21-point total in the Big West standings is the program's highest since capturing the 2013 regular season title with 21 points. Cal Poly's program record for Big West points is 24, set in 1999 and equaled in 2002 during nine-game schedules. The Mustangs also collected 23 points in 2003 (nine games) and 21 in 2009 (eight). Just once has seven-time Big West regular season champion Cal Poly secured 20-plus points, but not finished first. That instance occurred in 2012 when Cal State Fullerton's 21-point total edged Cal Poly by one.

OFFENSE IN FOCUS: Featuring two of the Big West's top four goalscorers and two of its top five assist leaders, Cal Poly is the conference's second leading goal-scoring side and ranked 37th among 335 NCAA Division I sides with 36 – a total that ranks as the program's highest since scoring 43 times in 2003. Highlighted by a 5-0 victory against San Jose State (Sept. 12) and 4-2 win versus Sacramento State (Aug. 29), Cal Poly has scored multiple goals in game 10 times and been shutout just twice – including a 2-0, season-opening loss to No. 24 Stanford (Aug. 19). Cal Poly has received goals from 11 different players this season while 15 separate Mustangs have recorded at least a point.

TRUCCO SETS THE SCORING PACE … : The Big West's third leading scorer with 10 goals, sophomore forward Nikki Trucco also ranks second with three game-winning goals, third with 21 points and fourth with 42 shot attempts. Trucco enters Thursday's match at Long Beach State having scored in four successive games. All four of those goals have come inside the opening 10 minutes, including an effort 30 seconds after kickoff versus UC San Diego that tied a 24-year-old program record for quickest goal. Averaging a goal every 119.8 minutes, Trucco has started 16 of 17 matches for Cal Poly in 2021.

… AND LAFAIX FOLLOWS: With all eight of her goals coming in Cal Poly's last 11 games, two-time Big West Offensive Player of the Week honoree and sophomore midfielder Camille Lafaix ranks fourth in the Big West in scoring. Also fifth in the Big West with 19 points, Lafaix produced her second career two-goal match in Cal Poly's 3-2 overtime win against Cal State Fullerton (Sept. 23) while also securing the game-winners in a 3-2 overtime victory versus UC San Diego (Oct. 17) and 2-1 triumph at UC Santa Barbara (Oct. 21). Lafaix, who has placed 22 of 34 shot attempts on target, has started in 16 of 17 matches this season while averaging a goal every 137 minutes.

ORTIZ AND RUBENSTEIN SET THE TABLE: With 10 of their 14 combined assists coming in Big West matches, junior Brooke Rubinstein leads the Big West and ranks 32nd among NCAA Division I players with eight assists while fellow forward Olivia Ortiz ranks fifth in the Big West with six. Four of Rubinstein's eight assists have come in Cal Poly's last four matches, including a two-assist effort to fuel a 2-1 win at UC Santa Barbara (Oct. 21). All but one of Rubinstein's assists has occurred in victories. Ortiz, Cal Poly's fourth leading scorer with three goals, has produced all six of her assists in Cal Poly wins.

SUPER SUB: Cal Poly's third leading scorer with four goals, all of freshman Kate Reedy's strikes have come in reserve appearances with the midfielder finding the back of the net against Sacramento State (Aug. 29), the game-winner at Colorado College (Sept. 5), the second of a 3-0 victory versus UC Riverside (Sept. 26) and the final in a 3-0 home win against CSUN (Oct. 10). Reedy, with just 34.3 minutes per appearance, is averaging a goal every 146 minutes.