Wednesday, September 20
Spokane, WA
6 p.m.
at
Gonzaga
Cal Poly Completes Big West Prep at Gonzaga, UC Santa Barbara
9/19/2023 1:40:00 PM | Men's Soccer
BEST ATTENDED REGULAR SEASON MATCHES NCAA HISTORY
SAN LUIS OBISPO – The Cal Poly men's soccer program completes Big West Conference preparations when visiting Gonzaga on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. and Blue-Green rival UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. Both matchups feature on ESPN+ for Cal Poly (1-3-1), which looks to extend a two-match unbeaten run following a 1-1 home draw with Utah Valley (Sept. 12) and 2-1 home victory versus Air Force (Sept. 17) – a decision that provided first-year Mustang head coach Oige Kennedy his victory in charge of the Mustangs. Gonzaga (2-2-4), facing its fifth Big West foe Wednesday, enters the matchup with Cal Poly winless in six successive after starting the year with back-to-back victories. Winners of three of its last four, UC Santa Barbara (4-3-0) visits California Baptist Tuesday evening before hosting Cal Poly. Against the Gauchos, Cal Poly seeks not only its first victory against the Gauchos since a 1-0 home decision on Sept. 30, 2018, but just its second win at Harder Stadium in the past 23 years and 24 games.
CAL POLY VERSUS GONZAGA: The Mustangs are unbeaten in three straight against Gonzaga, having secured a 3-1 home victory in the last matchup on Sept. 15, 2019. Cal Poly has also earned draws in its last two visits, finishing scoreless on Aug. 27, 2018 and in a 1-1 deadlock on Sept. 3, 2015. Gonzaga leads the Division I series, 6-4-2.
CAL POLY VERSUS UC SANTA BARBARA: The Mustangs secured a 1-1 draw at UC Santa Barbara last fall – their fifth road deadlock against the Gauchos in the last eight seasons – after forward Noah Boettiger's 79th-minute goal was cancelled out three minutes from full time by Finn Ballard McBride. Overall, Cal Poly attempts to snap a seven-match winless streak against UC Santa Barbara, having last beaten the Gauchos 1-0 at home on Sept. 30, 2018. UC Santa Barbara maintains a 30-15-10 series lead at the Division I level.
POINTS (NOT) ON OFFER: With the Big West's current 10-team, single-table format and with each program playing the remaining nine sides just once (on a home-and-home basis, rotating each season), Saturday's matchup will have no points available. The countable game in the Big West standings between Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara this season occurs on Sunday, Oct. 15 in San Luis Obispo.
A HARDER PLACE TO WIN: While Cal Poly is undefeated at home versus UC Santa Barbara in eight of the previous 12 matchups, the Mustangs have won just once at Harder Stadium in the past 23 years and 24 games. That historic win was a 2-1, overtime, come-from-behind effort on Oct. 19, 2012 in which Cal Poly scored in the 89th and 96th minutes. Meanwhile, 2-2 draws in 2008, 2014 and 2015, a 1-1 draw last fall and scoreless draws in 2008, 2016 and 2017 mark the seven other instances since 1998 that Cal Poly has earned at least a road point versus the Gauchos.
CENTRAL COAST SERIES A TIGHTLY CONTESTED AFFAIR: Twenty-two of the last 29 matches between Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara have been decided by one goal or drawn. Seven of Cal Poly's eight victories in the last 31 attempts against UC Santa Barbara have been a one-goal triumph. Just four times since 2007 has one side scored as many as three goals against the other (Cal Poly's 4-1 home victory versus the Gauchos to close 2017 marked the first time since Nov. 9, 2001 that one team had slipped four goals past the other). The Mustangs are undefeated at home against the Gauchos in nine of the last 13 years while UC Santa Barbara has lost exactly once at home to Cal Poly in the last 24 matchups at Harder Stadium.
CAL POLY-UC SANTA BARBARA MATCHUP REMAINS THE CENTRAL COAST TOP SPORTING ATTRACTION: The best-attended sporting events annually in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties, the Cal Poly-UC Santa Barbara series has drawn 28 of the top 66 regular season crowd figures in NCAA history with all matches occurring during the previous 15 seasons. The matchup inside Spanos Stadium has sold out all 11,075 seats in 10 of the last 14 seasons. The 21 combined matches between Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara during the last 10 years comprise 21 of the 27 highest attended collegiate soccer games in the United States – including NCAA Tournament and College Cup matches. Since the start of the 2007 season, 310,119 total spectators and an average of 9,691 fans per match have witnessed Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara clash on 32 occasions.
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.
UP NEXT (SEPT. 27/30): Cal Poly begins its 22nd year of Big West Conference play when hosting UC Davis (Wednesday, Sept. 27) and visiting UC Riverside (Saturday, Sept. 30). Kickoff on ESPN+ is 7 p.m. both evenings for Cal Poly, which seeks a winning Big West start for the first time since defeating UC Riverside at home in 2017. Cal Poly last took maximum points from its opening two Big West matches in 2009.
ETC.: Cal Poly's Aug. Aug. 28 season opener against Oral Roberts marked the program's first all-time matchup with the Golden Eagles.
SAN LUIS OBISPO – The Cal Poly men's soccer program completes Big West Conference preparations when visiting Gonzaga on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. and Blue-Green rival UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. Both matchups feature on ESPN+ for Cal Poly (1-3-1), which looks to extend a two-match unbeaten run following a 1-1 home draw with Utah Valley (Sept. 12) and 2-1 home victory versus Air Force (Sept. 17) – a decision that provided first-year Mustang head coach Oige Kennedy his victory in charge of the Mustangs. Gonzaga (2-2-4), facing its fifth Big West foe Wednesday, enters the matchup with Cal Poly winless in six successive after starting the year with back-to-back victories. Winners of three of its last four, UC Santa Barbara (4-3-0) visits California Baptist Tuesday evening before hosting Cal Poly. Against the Gauchos, Cal Poly seeks not only its first victory against the Gauchos since a 1-0 home decision on Sept. 30, 2018, but just its second win at Harder Stadium in the past 23 years and 24 games.
CAL POLY VERSUS GONZAGA: The Mustangs are unbeaten in three straight against Gonzaga, having secured a 3-1 home victory in the last matchup on Sept. 15, 2019. Cal Poly has also earned draws in its last two visits, finishing scoreless on Aug. 27, 2018 and in a 1-1 deadlock on Sept. 3, 2015. Gonzaga leads the Division I series, 6-4-2.
CAL POLY VERSUS UC SANTA BARBARA: The Mustangs secured a 1-1 draw at UC Santa Barbara last fall – their fifth road deadlock against the Gauchos in the last eight seasons – after forward Noah Boettiger's 79th-minute goal was cancelled out three minutes from full time by Finn Ballard McBride. Overall, Cal Poly attempts to snap a seven-match winless streak against UC Santa Barbara, having last beaten the Gauchos 1-0 at home on Sept. 30, 2018. UC Santa Barbara maintains a 30-15-10 series lead at the Division I level.
POINTS (NOT) ON OFFER: With the Big West's current 10-team, single-table format and with each program playing the remaining nine sides just once (on a home-and-home basis, rotating each season), Saturday's matchup will have no points available. The countable game in the Big West standings between Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara this season occurs on Sunday, Oct. 15 in San Luis Obispo.
A HARDER PLACE TO WIN: While Cal Poly is undefeated at home versus UC Santa Barbara in eight of the previous 12 matchups, the Mustangs have won just once at Harder Stadium in the past 23 years and 24 games. That historic win was a 2-1, overtime, come-from-behind effort on Oct. 19, 2012 in which Cal Poly scored in the 89th and 96th minutes. Meanwhile, 2-2 draws in 2008, 2014 and 2015, a 1-1 draw last fall and scoreless draws in 2008, 2016 and 2017 mark the seven other instances since 1998 that Cal Poly has earned at least a road point versus the Gauchos.
CENTRAL COAST SERIES A TIGHTLY CONTESTED AFFAIR: Twenty-two of the last 29 matches between Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara have been decided by one goal or drawn. Seven of Cal Poly's eight victories in the last 31 attempts against UC Santa Barbara have been a one-goal triumph. Just four times since 2007 has one side scored as many as three goals against the other (Cal Poly's 4-1 home victory versus the Gauchos to close 2017 marked the first time since Nov. 9, 2001 that one team had slipped four goals past the other). The Mustangs are undefeated at home against the Gauchos in nine of the last 13 years while UC Santa Barbara has lost exactly once at home to Cal Poly in the last 24 matchups at Harder Stadium.
CAL POLY-UC SANTA BARBARA MATCHUP REMAINS THE CENTRAL COAST TOP SPORTING ATTRACTION: The best-attended sporting events annually in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties, the Cal Poly-UC Santa Barbara series has drawn 28 of the top 66 regular season crowd figures in NCAA history with all matches occurring during the previous 15 seasons. The matchup inside Spanos Stadium has sold out all 11,075 seats in 10 of the last 14 seasons. The 21 combined matches between Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara during the last 10 years comprise 21 of the 27 highest attended collegiate soccer games in the United States – including NCAA Tournament and College Cup matches. Since the start of the 2007 season, 310,119 total spectators and an average of 9,691 fans per match have witnessed Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara clash on 32 occasions.
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.
UP NEXT (SEPT. 27/30): Cal Poly begins its 22nd year of Big West Conference play when hosting UC Davis (Wednesday, Sept. 27) and visiting UC Riverside (Saturday, Sept. 30). Kickoff on ESPN+ is 7 p.m. both evenings for Cal Poly, which seeks a winning Big West start for the first time since defeating UC Riverside at home in 2017. Cal Poly last took maximum points from its opening two Big West matches in 2009.
ETC.: Cal Poly's Aug. Aug. 28 season opener against Oral Roberts marked the program's first all-time matchup with the Golden Eagles.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's SoccerCal Poly vs. CSUN, Men's Soccer Highlights -- Oct 26th, 2025
Monday, October 27
Cal Poly vs. UC San Diego, Men's Soccer Highlights -- Oct 11th, 2025
Sunday, October 12
Cal Poly vs. UC Davis, Men's Soccer Highlights -- Oct 1st, 2025
Thursday, October 02
Cal Poly vs. CSU Bakersfield, Men's Soccer Highlights -- Nov. 2nd, 2024
Sunday, November 03
