Cal Poly Opens Big West Championship Wednesday at UC Davis

Wednesday, November 1

Davis, CA

3 p.m.

UC Davis

Photo by: Owen Main

Cal Poly Opens Big West Championship Wednesday at UC Davis

10/30/2023 3:36:00 PM | Men's Soccer

SAN LUIS OBISPO – A 1-1 draw during the Oct. 28 regular season finale away to Cal State Bakersfield was enough to clinch the Cal Poly men's soccer program's return to the Big West Championships after a two-year hiatus as the fifth-seeded Mustangs visit No. 4 UC Davis in the Wednesday, Nov. 1 opening round. Kickoff from Aggie Soccer Field on ESPN+ is 3 p.m. for Cal Poly (5-7-4), which seeks its first Big West Championships semifinal appearance since 2015. With a decision against the Aggies (7-7-3), Cal Poly – which finished tied for fifth in the Big West table alongside UC Riverside on 12 points – would advance to face regular season champion Cal State Fullerton in the Saturday, Nov. 4 semifinal round. Third-place UC Santa Barbara hosts UC Riverside in Wednesday's other opening-round matchup with that advancing side visiting No. 2 UC Irvine in the semifinals. The top remaining seed will host the Saturday, Nov. 11 championship match.

2023 Big West Championship
Wednesday, Nov. 1 (Opening Round)
No. 5 Cal Poly at No. 4 UC Davis, 3 p.m.
No. 6 UC Riverside at No. 3 UC Santa Barbara, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 4 (Semifinals)
Cal Poly/UC Davis at No. 1 Cal State Fullerton, TBA
UC Riverside/UC Santa Barbara at No. 2 UC Irvine, TBA

Saturday, Nov. 11 (Championship)
Semifinal Winners at Highest Remaining Seed, TBA

CAL POLY IN THE BIG WEST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT: The Mustangs have qualified for 10 of the 15 Big West Championships since the competition began in 2008, but have progressed beyond the opening round just once. That occasion occurred in 2015, when the Mustangs defeated UC Irvine in the opening round (1-0) before being eliminated at Cal State Fullerton (3-1) in the semifinals. Previously, Cal Poly has twice been eliminated at UC Santa Barbara (2008, 2010) and at CSUN (2012-13) and at home by UC Irvine (2009) – each time in the opening round (then the semifinals). Cal Poly has never reached the Big West Championship title match.

GOING TO THE SPOT: Should any Big West Tournament game be drawn after 90 minutes, two, 10-minute, non-golden goal periods will be employed. Still drawn after that, penalties will be used to determine the advancing side. Cal Poly has been involved in just one penalty shootout in Division I history, eliminated at UC Santa Barbara in the 2008 semifinals, 4-3, after the match finished, 2-2.

CAL POLY VERSUS UC DAVIS: Behind a 26th-minute goal from forward Declan Horio, UC Davis won the regular season match at Cal Poly (Sept. 27), 1-0. The Mustangs have defeated the Aggies just once in the last six meetings since 2017, handing UC Davis a 3-2 setback at home on Oct. 24, 2021. Cal Poly and UC Davis have never previously met in the Big West Championship. The Aggies lead the all-time series, 15-13-4.

DEFENSE KNUCKLES DOWN: After allowing 11 goals during the opening three games and 15 in seven non-conference matches, Cal Poly ranked second among Big West programs with just seven conceded goals in nine conference outings. With Cal Poly's goalkeepers combining for five clean sheets in the last 11 games, Cal Poly went 10 straight matches without conceding multiple goals before a 2-0 loss at UC Irvine (Oct. 18).

MUSTANG GOLDEN BOOT RACE COMES DOWN TO WIRE: With his first career two-goal game during Cal Poly's 3-1 home victory against UC San Diego (Oct. 8), sophomore forward Luke Schaefer took over the team scoring lead on four goals – for 30 minutes, until junior forward Jackson Kestler scored against the Tritons in the 90th to bag his fourth goal. The attacking duo jointly ranks ninth among Big West goalscorers. Freshman midfielder Rylan Firouznam sits next in Cal Poly's lineup after scoring his third goal during a 5-0 rout of Cal State Fullerton (Oct. 22) while sophomore forwards Sean McTague and Oren Stuppel and freshman midfielder Diego Guerra have each scored twice. Overall, Cal Poly has enjoyed 11 different goalscorers this season following a 29th-minute equalizer from freshman defender Joaquin Torres in a 1-1 draw at Cal State Bakersfield (Oct. 28). Kestler, who scored twice in Cal Poly's 4-0 win at Gonzaga (Sept. 20), also leads Cal Poly and ranks fourth among Big West players with five assists.

PENNER IN FRAME: Deputizing for Justin Siegel the last five matches, junior goalkeeper Gabe Penner has conceded just four times in the last 467 minutes for Cal Poly, producing a 0.96 goals against average since Oct. 11. After combining with Siegel for a shutout at Sacramento State (Oct. 11), Penner made three saves in Cal Poly's 5-0 win against Cal State Fullerton (Oct. 22) to earn his third career clean sheet.

THE SIEGEL FLYS HIGH: An offseason transfer from Sacred Heart, graduate goalkeeper Justin Siegel recorded a Cal Poly best seven saves to earn his first clean sheet as a Mustang during the program's 4-0 victory at Gonzaga (Sept. 20) and second in a 2-0 home win against CSUN (Oct. 4). He also combined with junior Gabe Penner for an Oct. 11 shutout of Sacramento State. Siegel, who also produced six saves to preserve a 1-1 home draw with Utah Valley (Sept. 12), has started 10 Cal Poly's last 13 matches while ranking third among Big West goalkeepers with a 1.02 goals against average.

KENNEDY TAKES THE MUSTANG REINS: After helping direct Stanford to NCAA Tournament College Cup championships in 2016 and 2017 and four Pac-12 Conference titles in seven years and having led Division II Fort Lewis College to NCAA Tournament national championships in 2009 and 2011 as head coach, Oige Kennedy was introduced as Cal Poly's fifth head coach at the Division I level on Dec. 9, 2022. Kennedy succeeds Steve Sampson, who retired at the conclusion of the 2022 season.