Mustangs Grab Second Straight Road Win

Sunday, August 28

Sacramento, CA / Hornet Field

1 P.M.

2-2-0, 0-0-0

Sacramento State

0-3-1, 0-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Cal Poly	0	1	1
Sacramento St.	0	0	0

Senior Kylie Rojas (left) scored the game-winning goal in Sunday's 1-0 victory at Sacramento State.

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

Mustangs Grab Second Straight Road Win

8/28/2022 4:30:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — For the second straight match, Cal Poly women's soccer used late-game heroics to earn a 1-0 road victory.

In the 80th minute near the endline, freshman forward Emily Lieber centered a cross for senior Kylie Rojas, who buried a shot into the back of the Sacramento State (0-3-1) net to give the Mustangs the only goal during Sunday's match at Hornet Field.

On Thursday, a 78th-minute goal from senior forward Nikki Trucco allowed Cal Poly to grab a 1-0 victory at Minnesota, its first win over a Big Ten opponent since 2008. Lieber also assisted on that score with a cross near the endline.

Cal Poly head coach Alex Crozier was extremely proud of his team's effort against the Hornets.

"It's not often, especially on the road, where we get two wins with all the travel we've had over the last few days," he said. "The team did a great job."

To help kickstart the offense in the second half, the Mustangs moved Rojas, who typically anchors the backline, into an attacking position.

"We decided we were going to step up and press a little higher in the second half, which helped us," Crozier said. "Kylie is just so good on the ball, she's quick and she causes a lot of problems. She was just in the right place at the right time. It was a good, clinical goal."

The win is Cal Poly's first at Sacramento State since Aug. 26, 2012.

Chances were limited for both teams in the opening half as the Mustangs and Hornets combined for five shots, and each side registered just one shot on goal.

"We were little off in the first half," Crozier said. "The [Hornets] did a good job of marking us up and taking away our space, but as the game wore on we broke them down a little bit."

In the 51st minute, a shot on goal by sophomore midfielder McKenna Carbon was turned away by Sacramento State goalkeeper Mia Shalit.

Senior forward Olivia Ortiz fired a shot on goal in the 89th minute just moments before Lieber sent a shot wide of the left post off a pass from senior midfielder Camille Lafaix while looking for an insurance goal for Cal Poly.

In her second start as a Mustang, sophomore goalkeeper Mary Norman earned her first career shutout by securing two saves.

Cal Poly outshot the Hornets 7-4 in the final half.

Crozier said he likes where the Mustangs are at for this point in the season, but knows their best is yet to come.

"We've won our last two games and we're still not playing with a good attacking rhythm yet, so that bodes well," Crozier said. "Once we get a rhythm going or start connecting more, we'll be a little more dangerous and hopefully we'll create some more scoring opportunities."

Cal Poly (2-2) continues its five-game road trip with a visit to No. 13 Stanford (3-0) on Sunday, Sept. 4 at 3 p.m.