5-5-3, 3-1-1
UC Irvine
4-6-3, 1-2-2
Team Stats
Tati Fung (2)
Assisted By: Desiree Mendoza , Chloe Ragon
32 intercepts, 3 left wing, 10 shot from 25 yards off keeper's glove upper right
12:02
Emily Nedom (2)
Assisted By: Whitney Wiley
corner returned, right wing service, 17 unmarked header off keeper's glove upper right
25:32
Kate Reedy (3)
Assisted By: Jessie Halladay
turnover in defensive third, 25 feed, 14 left foot from top of box
33:38
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Cal Poly Downs Anteaters on the Road, Moves Up Big West Standings
10/8/2023 8:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
IRVINE, Calif. — Goals from senior Kate Reedy and junior Emily Nedom powered Cal Poly women's soccer to a 2-1 victory at defending Big West tournament champion UC Irvine on Sunday.
The win allowed the Mustangs (5-5-3, 3-1-1 Big West) to move into a tie with Hawai'i for second place in the conference standings with 10 points.
Cal Poly fell behind early as the Anteaters (4-6-3, 1-2-2 BW) struck first in the 13th minute, but the Mustangs never panicked, responding just 13 minutes later on a perfectly executed cross.
After playing a corner kick into the box, graduate student Whitney Wiley got the ball right back, took a touch and sent a cross in front. Nedom was standing there unmarked on the back post to receive the cross and she blasted a header on net that deflected off the hand of the UCI goalkeeper before finding the back of the net. For Nedom, it was her second career goal and her second on the season. Wiley's assist was her second as a Mustang and the sixth of her collegiate career.
After knotting the match at 1-1, the Mustangs kept their foot on the gas and in the 34th minute they took the lead. Sophomore forward Jessie Halladay received the ball after a turnover by UC Irvine just outside the box and fed a pass to Reedy, who did the rest firing a shot to the left post past the diving arms of the UCI goalkeeper Savanna Arruda. It was Reedy's third goal of the season — tied for the second most on the team — and the seventh of her career. The assist by Halladay was her fourth of the season — tied for the third most in the Big West — and her 10th point of the year, tying her with freshman Annika Smith for the team lead.
Nedom nearly found a brace before the match reached halftime, firing a shot just over the crossbar in the 38th minute.
Cal Poly carried a 2-1 advantage into the break, outshooting the Anteaters 6-3 in the first half.
The Mustangs continued to pressure the UC Irvine backline in the opening moments of the second half, and Smith nearly gave Cal Poly a 3-1 lead. In the 49th minute, Nedom sent a cross into the box and Smith rose up and headed a ball on frame that the Anteater goalkeeper barely turned away.
In the 59th minute, junior goalkeeper Mackenzie Samuel made an incredible save on UCI's Sophie Gillies, pushing a ball headed toward the top of the right post over the net to preserve Cal Poly's 2-1 advantage.
Samuel finished with four saves in the match while facing 13 shots. The performance by the defending Big West Goalkeeper of the Year came just three days after she posted her 15th career clean sheet — tied for the sixth most in program history — in a scoreless draw at Long Beach State on Thursday.
Reedy was credited with the game-winning goal, her second of the season — tied with three other players for the most in the Big West.
Center backs Emma Brown, who made her 36th consecutive start Sunday, and Aynsley Conner played all 90 minutes for the Mustangs.
The win at the Anteaters was the Mustangs' first in Irvine since 2014.
Cal Poly returns to Mustang Memorial Field Presented by French Hospital this week to host Cal State Bakersfield at 7 p.m. Thursday and CSUN at 2 p.m. next Sunday.
