Cal Poly Heads to Davis, Looks to Bolster Big West Lead

Thursday, October 19

Davis, CA / Aggie Soccer Field

4 P.M.

UC Davis

Jessie Halladay Points After Goal, CSUN, 101523

Photo by: Joe Kelly

Cal Poly Heads to Davis, Looks to Bolster Big West Lead

10/18/2023 7:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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DAVIS, Calif. — Riding a five-match unbeaten streak, Cal Poly women's soccer travels to UC Davis on Thursday to kick off its final regular season road trip.

The Mustangs (7-5-3, 5-1-1 Big West) will carry a three-match winning streak into their battle with the Aggies as they look to bolster their lead in the conference standings. First kick is set for 4 p.m. at Aggie Soccer Field.

BIG WEST UPDATE: Cal Poly, who has already clinched a spot in the six-team Big West postseason tournament, took over first place in the conference table with a 2-0 home victory over Cal State Bakersfield last Thursday. With 16 points, the Mustangs sit just 1 point in front of second-place Cal State Fullerton (6-4-7, 4-1-3 BW) with three matches left in their season. However, the Mustangs have a match in hand as the Titans don't play Thursday. If Cal Poly wins two of its final three matches, the team will clinch its second straight outright Big West regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.

FOLLOW CAL POLY: Thursday's match at UC Davis will be broadcast live on ESPN+. You can find links to live stats and the broadcast above, and on the women's soccer schedule page on GoPoly.com. Follow Cal Poly women's soccer on X (@CPWomensSoccer) for live updates throughout the match.

CAL POLY VERSUS UC DAVIS: The Mustangs took down the Aggies 2-0 in San Luis Obispo last year to improve to 11-7-2 all-time against UC Davis.

SCOUTING UC DAVIS: The Aggies (7-6-2, 3-2-2 BW) are fresh off a 1-1 road trip where they posted a 2-1 victory at UC Riverside last Thursday and fell to Cal State Fullerton 1-0 on Sunday. The Aggies are tied with Long Beach State for third place in the Big West standings and trail the first-place Mustangs by 5 points with three matches left. The Aggies are led by senior Leslie Fregoso and junior Sam Tristan, who have combined for 29 points this fall (11 goals, 7 assists). Fregoso is tied for the Big West lead in game-winning goals with two, is second in the conference in shots per match and third in points with 16 (six goals, four assists). In net, redshirt junior goalkeeper Caeley Goldstein has started in all 15 matches for UC Davis and ranks third in the Big West in save percentage (.770) and goals against average (1.141). She has recorded four clean sheets this season.

RECORD-BREAKING SHARING: Four players recorded their first collegiate point in Sunday's 4-0 victory over CSUN — redshirt sophomore Dani Wozniak, redshirt freshman Sophia Minnite and freshmen Bailey Bracha and Jaycee DeFazio. Thanks to that showing on Sunday, 20 different players have recorded a point this season — a program record.

SCORING BY COMMITTEE: 14 different players have found the back of the net this season, tied for the second most in program history and the most since the 2008 season. Senior Kate Reedy, sophomore Jessie Halladay and freshman Annika Smith lead the way, burying four goals each. Halladay leads the team in points (four goals, four assists) and is tied for sixth in the Big West. With two-game winners this fall, Reedy is tied for the conference lead.

GIVE EM' ALL THE PRAISE: After beating a pair of Big West foes by a combined score of 6-0, the Mustangs received plenty of recognition from the conference office Monday as Reedy was crowned Big West Offensive Player of the Week and DeFazio earned Big West Freshman of the Week. It was the first Big West weekly honor for both players. Reedy tallied a goal and two assists across the two matches this past week, while DeFazio recorded her first collegiate goal and assist in Sunday's win over the Matadors.

SHE'S A KEEPER: Junior goalkeeper Mackenzie Samuel has been solid between the pipes all season long, recording three shutouts, a 1.225 goals against average and a .700 save percentage. The defending Big West Goalkeeper of the Year made her 24th straight start in net during Sunday's match against CSUN. She was subbed off in the 63rd minute, ending her consecutive minutes played streak at 2,133 minutes. In last Thursday's 2-0 victory over the Roadrunners, she posted her 16th career clean sheet — sixth most in program history. Samuel's play has allowed Cal Poly to post a shutout in two straight matches and not allow a goal in over 257 consecutive minutes of action. Just over a week ago, Samuel was named an honorable mention on the Oct. 2-8 Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week.

EMMAZING: Junior center back Emma Brown made her 38th consecutive start in Sunday's match against CSUN. The All-Big West Preseason Team selection has appeared in 54 matches during her Cal Poly career, starting in 51 and playing every minute in 44 of them without receiving a card. Last season, Brown was named to the All-Big West First Team and received United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Third Team praise.

CAREER FIRSTS: 10 Mustangs have made their first collegiate appearance this fall and nine have recorded their first collegiate point.

UP NEXT: Cal Poly heads to Hawai'i (4-5-3, 3-3-1 BW) on Sunday for its final regular season road match. The match is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. PDT.