Mustangs Visit Cal State Fullerton Wednesday, Host UCR Saturday

Wednesday, October 5

Fullerton, CA

7 p.m.

Cal State Fullerton

Photo by: Owen Main

Mustangs Visit Cal State Fullerton Wednesday, Host UCR Saturday

10/4/2022 2:33:00 PM | Men's Soccer

SAN LUIS OBISPO – One of only two unbeaten Big West sides following the opening week of conference action, the Cal Poly men's soccer program visits Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday, Oct. 5 before hosting UC Irvine on Saturday, Oct. 8. Kickoff both evenings is 7 p.m. for Cal Poly (1-8-1, 1-0-1), which sits in second place in the Big West standings after producing a 1-1 draw at UC Davis (Sept. 28) before earning a 2-1, come-from-behind home victory against UC Irvine (Oct. 2). On four points, Cal Poly trails Big West leader UC Santa Barbara by two points and leads six programs – including Cal State Fullerton (6-4-2, 1-1-0) and UC Riverside (2-6-2, 1-1-0) – with three points. Cal State Fullerton, playing just its second home match since Sept. 11, recovered from a Big West-opening loss to UC Irvine to edge CSU Bakersfield, 1-0 (Oct. 1). UC Riverside, meanwhile, broke a seven-match winless run with a 1-0 home victory against UC Davis (Oct. 1).

FOLLOW CAL POLY THIS WEEK: Video and live stats for both Wednesday's game at Cal State Fullerton and Saturday's home matchup against UC Riverside will be available via GoPoly.com HERE.

CAL POLY VERSUS CAL STATE FULLERTON: Visiting Cal State Fullerton for the first time in four years, Cal Poly seeks to snap a four-game slide at Titan Stadium and earn the program's first road win in the series since 2012. Cal Poly handed Cal State Fullerton a 2-0 defeat at home last season through goals from sophomore captain Nate Colley (15') and sophomore forward Ori Bitton (47'). The Titans, however, lead the Division I series, 20-15-1.

CAL POLY VERSUS UC RIVERSIDE: The Highlanders eliminated Cal Poly in last year's Big West Tournament with a 1-0, opening-round decision at Alex G. Spanos Stadium. The Highlanders are undefeated against the Mustangs in the last four years with Cal Poly's last series win a 3-1 home triumph on Sept. 28, 2017. Cal Poly leads the Division I series, 16-11-2.

RUIZ TOPS THE SCORESHEET: Without a goal through Cal Poly's opening eight matches, junior midfielder Tony Ruiz – an offseason transfer from two-year Hartnell College – has scored in successive games, following the opener in Cal Poly's 1-1 draw at UC Davis (Oct. 2) with the 33rd-minute game-winner against UC Irvine (Oct. 2). Ruiz, who also provided an assist against Houston Baptist (Sept. 5), has started in six of seven appearances this year.

DEBUTANTE BALL: With Cal Poly featuring one of the youngest lineups in Division I (38 of the program's 44 rostered players are either freshmen or sophomores), 21 Mustangs have made their collegiate debuts this season.

CAL POLY SELECTED SIXTH IN BIG WEST CONFERENCE POLL: Highlighted by sophomore forward Drew Patterson's selection to the 11-player Big West Preseason Team, Cal Poly was selected for a sixth-place finish in the Big West standings following the Aug. 19 release of the annual coaches poll. Cal Poly earned 44 points and one first-place vote to finish directly behind third-place UC Davis (49), fourth-place UC Riverside (47) and fifth-place Sacramento State (46). UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine, who split last year's regular season title, each collected 71 points to return to the top spot in the preseason poll.

UP NEXT (OCT. 12, 15): Five matches will remain in the regular season when Cal Poly contests its final road trip of the year at CSUN (Wednesday, Oct. 12) and UC San Diego (Saturday, Oct. 15). Kickoff is 7 p.m. both evenings as Cal Poly seeks a third successive victory against CSUN (and first on the road in seven years) while visiting UC San Diego for the first time as a Division I opponent.

ETC.: Sophomore defender Conner Leber and freshman midfielder Richie Garcia were both named to the all-tournament team at Ohio State's Wolstein Classic (Aug. 25, 28) … the 10,392-fan attendance figure for Cal Poly's Sept. 21 home matchup versus Blue-Green rival UC Santa Barbara marked the 25th largest regular season attendance figure in NCAA history and the largest crowd – by 3,853 people – in the nation this season … Cal Poly's 2-1 home win against UC Irvine (Oct. 2) was its first against the Anteaters in seven years.