Thursday, September 14
Santa Barbara, CA / Harder Stadium
7 P.M.
at
UC Santa Barbara
Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics
Mustangs Open Big West Play at Rival UCSB
9/12/2023 5:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
WATCH
LIVE STATS
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — After a strong effort Sunday, the Cal Poly women's soccer team will make its shortest road trip of the season on Thursday to take on Blue-Green rival UC Santa Barbara in the Big West opener for both teams. First kick is set for 7 p.m. at Harder Stadium.
The Mustangs (1-3-2) are fresh off an impressive showing against then eighth-ranked Santa Clara (6-0-2), earning a 1-1 draw against the 2020 National Champions at Mustang Memorial Field Presented by French Hospital while controlling the run of play throughout. Cal Poly will look to build off that performance against its Central Coast foe.
FOLLOW CAL POLY: Thursday's match 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 THE GAUCHOS: The Mustangs lead the all-time series with UCSB 17-8-8. Cal Poly has won the last two meetings, including a 4-0 home victory over the Gauchos last season that saw Peja Balanon earn her first career brace. The Mustangs are undefeated (2-0-4) over their last six matches against UC Santa Barbara.
SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS: UCSB is 2-2-4 overall this season, posting victories against Loyola Marymount on Aug. 17 and Idaho on Sept. 10, and drawing against San Jose State, Fresno State, Iowa State and San Francisco. The Gauchos are led by senior midfielder Lauren Helwig, who is responsible for half (four) of the team's eight goals this season, scoring three by way of penalty kick. Helwig is tied for second in the Big West in goals and leads the conference in shots (26). In net for the Gauchos, junior Sabrina Hinz started in the first six matches of the season, but senior Taylor Little has earned the start in the last two matches. Little is 1-1-1 on the season and owns a 0.96 goals against average and a .824 save percentage while facing 42 shots and making 14 saves. Last season, UCSB was 5-9-6 overall and 4-3-3 in Big West play, and fell to No. 4 Long Beach State 2-1 in the opening round of the conference tournament.
SO-MONEY: Freshman Sophia Moness buried her first collegiate goal in Sunday's match against Santa Clara, helping the Mustangs secure their first draw over a top-10 nationally ranked team since Sept. 24, 2015. The performance earned Moness Big West Freshman of the Week honors. The El Dorado Hills native has started in the last three matches for the Mustangs and has recorded six shots on the season — tied for the third most on the team.
THE PERFECT MIX: The Mustangs return 15 letterwinners and four All-Big West honorees from their 2022 squad that secured the program's first outright Big West regular season title in nine years and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, but also have 15 newcomers this fall — 12 freshmen and three transfers.
BACKLINE VETERANS: Sophomore Camryn Penn and juniors Emma Brown and Aynsley Conner make up an experienced-laden backline for the Mustangs. Between the three of them, the trio boasts 95 career appearances and 88 starts. Brown, a 2022 All-Big West First Team selection, was named to the All-Big West Preseason Coaches Team and has played every minute in 36 of the 45 matches she has appeared in. Conner, who transferred to Cal Poly from Minnesota prior to the 2022 season, and Penn, who recorded her third career assist on Moness' goal Sunday, each have 25 appearances and 23 starts across their Cal Poly careers.
CAREER FIRSTS: On Sunday, freshman Tacey Bivin became the ninth Mustang to make their first collegiate appearance this season, joining redshirt freshman Sophia Minnite, and freshmen Bailey Bracha, Jaycee DeFazio, Sophia Moness, Kasia Wolf, Siena Urzua, Anna Babinski and Annika Smith. During Sunday's match, Moness also became the fourth Mustang to record their first collegiate point this fall, joining junior Emily Nedom and sophomores Brennan Cole and Jessie Halladay. Sophomore Caylie Button (pictured above) buried her first career goal in last Thursday's match against Gonzaga.
A HOMECOMING OF SORTS: The Mustangs have a pair of Santa Barbara natives on their roster — freshman Kasia Wolf and Siena Urzua. Wolf is a Santa Barbara High grad, while Urzua attended Bishop Diego.
BATTLE TESTED: Cal Poly's schedule so far this season is ranked as the 22nd-toughest in the nation.
UP NEXT: Cal Poly returns home at noon Sunday to host Pacific. The Mustangs will honor their six seniors prior to the match.
LIVE STATS
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — After a strong effort Sunday, the Cal Poly women's soccer team will make its shortest road trip of the season on Thursday to take on Blue-Green rival UC Santa Barbara in the Big West opener for both teams. First kick is set for 7 p.m. at Harder Stadium.
The Mustangs (1-3-2) are fresh off an impressive showing against then eighth-ranked Santa Clara (6-0-2), earning a 1-1 draw against the 2020 National Champions at Mustang Memorial Field Presented by French Hospital while controlling the run of play throughout. Cal Poly will look to build off that performance against its Central Coast foe.
FOLLOW CAL POLY: Thursday's match 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 THE GAUCHOS: The Mustangs lead the all-time series with UCSB 17-8-8. Cal Poly has won the last two meetings, including a 4-0 home victory over the Gauchos last season that saw Peja Balanon earn her first career brace. The Mustangs are undefeated (2-0-4) over their last six matches against UC Santa Barbara.
SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS: UCSB is 2-2-4 overall this season, posting victories against Loyola Marymount on Aug. 17 and Idaho on Sept. 10, and drawing against San Jose State, Fresno State, Iowa State and San Francisco. The Gauchos are led by senior midfielder Lauren Helwig, who is responsible for half (four) of the team's eight goals this season, scoring three by way of penalty kick. Helwig is tied for second in the Big West in goals and leads the conference in shots (26). In net for the Gauchos, junior Sabrina Hinz started in the first six matches of the season, but senior Taylor Little has earned the start in the last two matches. Little is 1-1-1 on the season and owns a 0.96 goals against average and a .824 save percentage while facing 42 shots and making 14 saves. Last season, UCSB was 5-9-6 overall and 4-3-3 in Big West play, and fell to No. 4 Long Beach State 2-1 in the opening round of the conference tournament.
SO-MONEY: Freshman Sophia Moness buried her first collegiate goal in Sunday's match against Santa Clara, helping the Mustangs secure their first draw over a top-10 nationally ranked team since Sept. 24, 2015. The performance earned Moness Big West Freshman of the Week honors. The El Dorado Hills native has started in the last three matches for the Mustangs and has recorded six shots on the season — tied for the third most on the team.
THE PERFECT MIX: The Mustangs return 15 letterwinners and four All-Big West honorees from their 2022 squad that secured the program's first outright Big West regular season title in nine years and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, but also have 15 newcomers this fall — 12 freshmen and three transfers.
BACKLINE VETERANS: Sophomore Camryn Penn and juniors Emma Brown and Aynsley Conner make up an experienced-laden backline for the Mustangs. Between the three of them, the trio boasts 95 career appearances and 88 starts. Brown, a 2022 All-Big West First Team selection, was named to the All-Big West Preseason Coaches Team and has played every minute in 36 of the 45 matches she has appeared in. Conner, who transferred to Cal Poly from Minnesota prior to the 2022 season, and Penn, who recorded her third career assist on Moness' goal Sunday, each have 25 appearances and 23 starts across their Cal Poly careers.
CAREER FIRSTS: On Sunday, freshman Tacey Bivin became the ninth Mustang to make their first collegiate appearance this season, joining redshirt freshman Sophia Minnite, and freshmen Bailey Bracha, Jaycee DeFazio, Sophia Moness, Kasia Wolf, Siena Urzua, Anna Babinski and Annika Smith. During Sunday's match, Moness also became the fourth Mustang to record their first collegiate point this fall, joining junior Emily Nedom and sophomores Brennan Cole and Jessie Halladay. Sophomore Caylie Button (pictured above) buried her first career goal in last Thursday's match against Gonzaga.
A HOMECOMING OF SORTS: The Mustangs have a pair of Santa Barbara natives on their roster — freshman Kasia Wolf and Siena Urzua. Wolf is a Santa Barbara High grad, while Urzua attended Bishop Diego.
BATTLE TESTED: Cal Poly's schedule so far this season is ranked as the 22nd-toughest in the nation.
UP NEXT: Cal Poly returns home at noon Sunday to host Pacific. The Mustangs will honor their six seniors prior to the match.
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