Portland
Cal Poly Eyes Third Straight Win in Portland
9/23/2023 8:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
PORTLAND, Ore. — Riding a two-match winning streak, Cal Poly women's soccer takes on Portland at 7 p.m. Saturday to put a bow on nonconference play this season.
FOLLOW CAL POLY: Saturday's road 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 PORTLAND: The last time the Mustangs matched up with the Pilots, the two teams played to a 1-1 draw at the Husky Nike Invitational on Sept. 4, 2016, in Seattle. This is the fourth meeting all-time between the two schools and Portland leads the series 1-0-2.
SCOUTING PORTLAND: The Pilots (5-1-2) enter Saturday's match fresh off a 4-0 win at Stonehill College last Sunday and are currently on a six-match unbeaten streak. Portland's only loss of the season occurred on Aug. 24 at home against Washington State, currently ranked No. 24 in the nation. Portland also owns victories over CSUN, UC Davis, Seattle and UC Irvine. The Pilots, who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago before falling to NCAA semifinalist and No. 1 overall seed Alabama, were picked to finish second in this year's West Coast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll and had three players named to the All-WCC Preseason Team — Bre Norris, Nedya Sawan and Cally Togiai. Sawan leads the Pilots with seven points this season (two goals, three assists), while Norris has started every match in net for Portland, allowing just two goals and posting a .889 save percentage (tied for eighth best in Division I) and a 0.25 goals against average.
RIDING HIGH: The Mustangs (3-3-2) carry plenty of momentum into Saturday's battle with the Pilots after securing a pair of 3-1 victories over Pacific and UC Santa Barbara this past week. In last Sunday's Senior Day win over the Tigers, senior Georgia Weeks and freshman Annika Smith each netted their first career goals and graduate student Whitney Wiley, a New Hampshire transfer, buried her first goal as a Mustang. In its Big West opener at UCSB on Sept. 14, three players tallied multiple points — senior Kate Reedy and sophomores Jessie Halladay and Emily Lieber. Halladay leads the Mustangs with eight points this season in six matches, good for third in the Big West in average points per game (1.33). Lieber is also tied for sixth in the conference in assists with three this fall.
WEEKLY HONORS: Cal Poly's impressive week on the pitch allowed a pair of players to pick up weekly honors from the conference office as junior goalkeeper Mackenzie Samuel was named Big West Defensive Player of the Week and Annika Smith was crowned Big West Freshman of the Week. Smith collected her first collegiate goal and assist last week, while Samuel was sharp between the pipes allowing just two goals across Cal Poly's victories while facing 22 shots and making four saves.
THE RIGHT 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.
THE DEFENDERS: 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 100 career appearances and 93 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 38 of the 47 matches she has appeared in. Conner has started in 25 of the 27 matches she has appeared in, while Penn has recorded 24 starts over 26 appearances.
FIRST APPEARANCES: Nine Mustangs have made their first collegiate appearance this fall — redshirt freshman Sophia Minnite, and freshmen Bailey Bracha, Jaycee DeFazio, Sophia Moness, Kasia Wolf, Siena Urzua, Anna Babinski, Tacey Bivin and Annika Smith. Urzua, a Santa Barbara native, has started at center back in the last two matches, while Smith has started at forward in six of the seven matches she has appeared in this fall.
CONFERENCE TABLE: With a 1-0 record in Big West play, the Mustangs currently sit in a tie with UC Riverside for second place in the Big West standings and are one of only three teams with a conference victory so far this season.
UP NEXT: Cal Poly returns to Mustang Memorial Field Presented by French Hospital this coming week to host Cal State Fullerton at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 28, and UC Riverside at noon on Sunday, Oct. 1.
