Mustangs Welcome Iowa to Spanos for Home Opener

Sunday, August 21

San Luis Obispo, CA

10:30 A.M.

Iowa

Tickets

Monserrat Hernandez Marquez, Westmont, 8-10-22

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

Mustangs Welcome Iowa to Spanos for Home Opener

8/19/2022 9:30:00 AM | Women's Soccer

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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Cal Poly women's soccer team will be seeking its first victory of the season when they host Iowa at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

The Mustangs (0-1) suffered a 3-1 season-opening loss at Saint Mary's on Thursday, surrendering all three goals in the first half.

The Hawkeyes (0-1) also opened their season Thursday at No. 13 UCLA, falling 1-0 to the Bruins. UCLA broke through in the 60th minute with the match's only goal and outshot Iowa 12-5 in a defensive battle.

FOLLOW CAL POLY: Sunday's match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Daniel Gillman providing play-by-play alongside analyst and professional soccer player Grace Cutler. All home and Big West Conference matches this season will be broadcast on ESPN+. Follow Cal Poly women's soccer on Twitter (CPWomensSoccer) for live updates throughout the match.

CAL POLY VERSUS IOWA: Sunday will be the first matchup in history between Cal Poly and Iowa.

SCOUTING IOWA: Dave Dilanni is in his ninth season as head coach for the Hawkeyes, who posted a 12-6-2 record in 2021 and tied for fourth in the Big Ten to earn Iowa's highest regular season conference finish since 1999. In 2019 and 2020 (played in spring 2021 due to COVID-19), Iowa made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in program history and on April 27, 2021, the Hawkeyes defeated Campbell 1-0 to capture their first NCAA Tournament victory. The Hawkeyes return six starters from their 2021 squad, including fifth-year senior midfielder Hailey Rydberg, a 2021 third-team All-Big Ten selection with two goals and seven assists, and fifth-year senior defender Sara Wheaton, a second-team All-Big Ten honoree last season and Iowa's Defensive Player of the Year. The Hawkeyes' roster features three fifth-year seniors. Last season, Iowa's defense surrendered 20 goals and posted seven shutouts.

HISTORY AGAINST THE BIG TEN: This will be the Mustangs' first matchup against a Big Ten opponent since opening the 2017 season with a 3-1 loss at Indiana in the Hoosier Challenge Cup. Cal Poly will be seeking its first victory over a Big Ten foe since defeating Indiana 3-1 on Sept. 7, 2008, in the Hoosier Classic. Cal Poly has never hosted a Big Ten team at Alex G. Spanos Stadium prior to Sunday's match and is 3-2-0 against the Big Ten all-time.

LAFAIX MAKES HISTORY: On Thursday, senior midfielder Camille Lafaix became the first Mustang in program history to be named to the Preseason MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List and the second ever to appear on the list, joining Elise Krieghoff, who was added to the candidate pool for the award midway through her junior season in 2014. Lafaix, a Big West Preseason All-Conference team selection, was the only player from the Big West named to the watch list. She also scored the lone goal in Thursday's season opener, the 13th of her Cal Poly career.

USC WATCH LISTS: Three Mustangs — Lafaix, sophomore defender Emma Brown and senior forward Nikki Trucco — were named to preseason "Players to Watch" lists by the United Soccer Coaches heading into the 2022 season.

ONE GIANT LEAP FOR LIEBER: Freshman forward Emily Lieber, an El Dorado Hills, Calif. native, made her first career start in Thursday's season-opening match at Saint Mary's, and assisted on Lafaix's goal to earn her first career point as a Mustang. Sophomore forward Emily Nedom also recorded the first start of her career Thursday.

FIRST APPEARANCES: Seven Mustangs played their first regular season minutes in a Cal Poly uniform Thursday — Lieber, sophomore Aynsley Conner (a transfer from Minnesota), redshirt freshman Maille Smith and freshmen Brennan Cole, Annie Larson, Camryn Penn and Caylie Button.

SENIOR-LADEN BACKLINE: Three seniors started on the Mustangs' backline in their season opener — Kylie Rojas, Madison Demijohn and Annette Greenley.

LOADED WITH EXPERIENCE: The Mustangs return six starters, 22 letterwinners and four United Soccer Coaches All-West Region selections from their 2021 squad that secured a share of the program's first Big West regular season title since 2013. Cal Poly also had seven seniors start in Thursday's match at the Gaels.

OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER: Cal Poly returns over 90 percent of its goal production from a year ago and its top four goal scorers, including Trucco, a Big West Preseason All-Conference team selection, who netted the 12th-most goals in a single season in program history with 10.

MR. 300: Alex Crozier, who is in his 30th season as head coach for the Mustangs, notched his 300th career victory with a 1-0 win at Long Beach State last year. He enters the 2022 season ranked No. 23 nationally in career victories among active head coaches and No. 39 all-time.

YOUTH DAY: All kids 13 and under receive free admission to Sunday's match.

UP NEXT: Cal Poly kicks off a five-game road trip with a visit to Minnesota at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 25. This will be the first meeting between the two schools.