Mustangs Host Hawai'i Sunday in First Round of Big West Championships

Sunday, October 29

San Luis Obispo, CA

2 P.M.

No. 6 Hawai'i

Tickets

Pre Match Hype Up Liv, UC San Diego, 102623

Photo by: Emmy Scherer

Mustangs Host Hawai'i Sunday in First Round of Big West Championships

10/28/2023 6:30:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly women's soccer opens postseason play Sunday when the third-seeded Mustangs host No. 6 Hawai'i in the first round of the Big West Championships. First kick is set for 2 p.m. at Mustang Memorial Field Presented by French Hospital.

Playing in the opening round of the conference tournament for the first time since it expanded to six teams a year ago, Sunday will mark the final home match of the season for the Mustangs.

FOLLOW CAL POLY: Sunday's match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Max Milander on the call. You can find links for 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.

WHAT'S AT STAKE: The winner of Sunday's match will advance to face No. 2 seed UC Davis in the semifinals of the Big West Championships at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Stadium. Cal Poly (8-7-3) fell to UC San Diego 1-0 in its regular season finale Thursday, allowing UC Davis and top seed Cal State Fullerton to jump ahead of them in the final conference regular season standings. As the No. 1 seed, the Titans will host both semifinals and the championship match in the Big West tourney.

CAL POLY VERSUS HAWAI'I: These two teams squared off just seven days ago on O'ahu — what ensued was one of the most dramatic matches in Cal Poly history. Seniors Olivia Ortiz and Kate Reedy buried goals just 32 seconds apart in the 85th minute to power the Mustangs to a thrilling 2-1 comeback victory over the Rainbow Wahine. The win allowed Cal Poly to improve to 9-1-3 all-time against Hawai'i and remain unbeaten in its last four meetings (2-0-2) with the Rainbow Wahine.

SCOUTING HAWAI'I: The Rainbow Wahine (5-7-3, 4-5-1 Big West) finished seventh in the Big West regular season standings, but were as able to earn a berth in the conference tournament as fifth place UC San Diego is still not able to participate in the postseason tournament as they complete their transition to Division I. Hawai'i, making its second appearance in the Big West Championships, is fresh off a 4-2 defeat at Long Beach State on Thursday to end the regular season. The Rainbow Wahine are led by redshirt sophomore forward Amber Gilbert, who has scored seven goals this season — third in the Big West. Gilbert was named to the All-Big West First Team on Saturday, while midfielder Eliza Ammendolia and defender Jacey Jicha both earned spots on the Second Team. In net, senior Sophie Augustin has started in 15 matches for the Rainbow Wahine, recording two clean sheets, a 1.80 goals against average and a .684 save percentage.

CAL POLY VERSUS HAWAI'I IN THE POSTSEASON: These two teams have never faced each other in the Big West postseason.

CAL POLY IN THE POSTSEASON: The Mustangs have qualified for 14 of the 22 Big West tournaments, capturing all the glory in 1996, 2003 and 2004. Last year, Cal Poly lost in the Big West semifinals for just the second time in program history, falling 1-0 to LBSU at Mustang Memorial Field.

NO MORE GOLDEN: There is no golden goal in college soccer. That means if a match in the Big West Championships is tied after 90 minutes, two 10-minute overtime periods will be played out and if the game is still tied then a penalty-kick shootout will determine a winner.

PLENTY OF PRAISE TO GO AROUND: Seven Mustangs received All-Big West honors from the conference's coaches on Saturday (the program's most since 2014), highlighted by junior Emma Brown being crowned Big West Defensive Player of the Year. Brown is the fifth Mustang in program history to be named Big West Defensive Player of the Year and the first since Julianne Grinstead in 2009. Senior forward Kate Reedy, junior goalkeeper Mackenzie Samuel and freshman forward Annika Smith were all selected to the All-Big West Second Team, while sophomore defender Camryn Penn earned All-Big West Honorable Mention recognition. Smith also grabbed a spot on the Big West All-Freshman Team, along with redshirt freshman midfielder Sophia Minnite and freshman midfielder Sophia Moness. Smith is the first Mustang since Megan Abutin in 2013 to be selected to an All-Big West Team and the conference's All-Freshman Team in the same season.

RECORD-BREAKING SHARING: 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.

FIRSTS FOR ALL: 10 Mustangs have made their first collegiate appearance this fall and 10 have recorded their first career point — senior Georgia Weeks, junior Emily Nedom, redshirt sophomore Dani Wozniak, sophomores Brennan Cole and Jessie Halladay, redshirt freshman Sophia Minnite, and freshmen Bailey Bracha, Jaycee DeFazio, Sophia Moness and Annika Smith. Halladay, who transferred to Cal Poly from Loyola Marymount this spring, is second on the team in points with 12 (four goals, four assists) and Smith is third with 11 (four goals, three assists). Earlier this season, Smith netted the eighth hat trick in program history.

LEADING THROUGH THE BACK: Brown, Penn and junior center back Aynsley Conner lead a Cal Poly backline that has helped the Mustangs record four shutouts this season and 14 over the past two seasons. Brown started in her 41st consecutive match Thursday, and the two-time All-Big West First Team selection has appeared in 57 matches during her Cal Poly career, starting in 54 and playing every minute in 47 of them without receiving a card. Conner has appeared in 37 matches during her collegiate career, making 33 starts for the Mustangs and playing every minute in 22. Penn has started in 34 of the 36 matches she has appeared in.

THE KEEPER: Samuel has been solid between the pipes all season long, recording three shutouts, a 1.187 goals against average and a .727 save percentage. She made her 27th consecutive start in net during Thursday's match against the Tritons.

THANK YOU FANS: The Mustangs are ranked 12th in the nation in average home attendance this season and 14th in accumulative attendance. On Oct. 15 against CSUN, Cal Poly obliterated its home attendance record as 4,064 fans were in attendance — the 23rd-most attended women's soccer match in the nation this season.