Thursday, September 7
San Luis Obispo, CA
7 P.M.
vs
Gonzaga
Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics
Cal Poly Opens Home Slate Against No. 23 Gonzaga, No. 8 Santa Clara
9/5/2023 5:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
ESPN+ — THURSDAY
LIVE STATS — THURSDAY
ESPN+ — SUNDAY
LIVE STATS — SUNDAY
GONZAGA DIGITAL PROGRAM
SANTA CLARA DIGITAL PROGRAM
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — After playing its first four matches of the season on the road, the Cal Poly women's soccer team returns home this week to face a pair of ranked West Coast Conference opponents at Mustang Memorial Field Presented by French Hospital.
First up is the Mustangs' home opener against No. 23 Gonzaga (5-1-0) at 7 p.m. Thursday, then Cal Poly (1-2-1) will cap its two-match homestand at noon Sunday by facing No. 8 Santa Clara (6-0-1).
FOLLOW CAL POLY THIS WEEK: Both matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Daniel Gillman on the call. You can find links for live stats and both broadcasts above, and on the women's soccer schedule page on GoPoly.com. During Thursday's match, the Mustangs will be raising awareness for ALS and promoting the second annual Central Coast Ride and Rally to Defeat ALS on Saturday, Sept. 16, in San Luis Obispo. Follow Cal Poly women's soccer on X (@CPWomensSoccer) for live updates throughout both home matches.
CAL POLY VERSUS GONZAGA: Thursday's match marks the fifth all-time meeting between the Mustangs and Bulldogs. Cal Poly is 1-3-0 all-time against the Zags and this is the third straight season the two sides have squared off.
SCOUTING GONZAGA: The Bulldogs are one of the highest scoring teams in the nation, burying 26 goals this fall and averaging over four goals per match — both ranked in the top five in Division I. Gonzaga is ranked eighth nationally in shots on goal per game (10.83) and has three players with four or more goals this season — Kate Doyle, Giana Riley and Marissa Garcia. Doyle, a redshirt junior forward, leads the Zags with 16 total points (seven goals, two assists) which is ranked 16th nationally. Gonzaga has defeated Houston Christian, Hawai'i, Weber State, Oklahoma and Utah Tech this season with their lone loss coming in a 3-1 home defeat to Nebraska on Aug. 27.
CAL POLY VERSUS SANTA CLARA: This is the Mustangs' 22nd all-time meeting with the Broncos with their last matchup occurring on Sept. 21, 2018, in Santa Clara.
SCOUTING SANTA CLARA: The two-time national champions own victories over San Jose State, Oregon State, Washington, Seattle, Columbia and James Madison this season — posting shutouts in three of them. On Thursday in Berkeley, Santa Clara earned a scoreless draw at Cal, who beat the Mustangs 2-0 this past Sunday. Five Broncos have scored two or more goals this season, led by midfielder Sally Menti (two goals, four assists) and forward Farrah Walters (three goals, two assists) who each have eight points on the season. Santa Clara is unbeaten in its first seven matches (6-0-1) for the first time in 12 years.
CAREER FIRSTS: Three Mustangs have registered their first collegiate point so far this season. Junior Emily Nedom buried her first career goal in the win over LMU on Aug. 27, while sophomore Brennan Cole earned a secondary assist on the score — the first of her career. Sophomore Jessie Halladay scored her first career goal in the season opener against Fresno State and tallied a goal and an assist against her former school in the victory over the Lions. In addition, eight 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 and Annika Smith.
NEVER COMING OFF THE PITCH: Junior center back Emma Brown played all 90 minutes in Sunday's loss at Cal upping her consecutive minutes played streak to 990 (11 straight matches). Across her Cal Poly career, Brown has started in 40 matches, playing every minute in 35 of them. The 2022 All-Big West First Team selection was one of 12 players named to the All-Big West Preseason Coaches 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, but also have 15 newcomers this fall — 12 freshmen and three transfers.
HOLDING IT DOWN: Junior Mackenzie Samuel posted her 14th career clean sheet in the 2-0 victory over LMU, earning Big West Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career. She also made five saves in that match to move to No. 10 on Cal Poly's all-time career saves list. The 2022 Big West Goalkeeper of the Year owns a .773 save percentage and a 1.25 goals against average this season and has made 17 saves across four starts.
ON POINT: Cal Poly is currently ranked 25th in the nation in shot accuracy (58.3 percent).
FUN FACT: Following this week, the Mustangs will have faced three ranked opponents this fall, their most in a season since taking on four in 2018.
UP NEXT: The Mustangs travel to rival UC Santa Barbara on Thursday, Sept. 14, to open Big West play.
LIVE STATS — THURSDAY
ESPN+ — SUNDAY
LIVE STATS — SUNDAY
GONZAGA DIGITAL PROGRAM
SANTA CLARA DIGITAL PROGRAM
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — After playing its first four matches of the season on the road, the Cal Poly women's soccer team returns home this week to face a pair of ranked West Coast Conference opponents at Mustang Memorial Field Presented by French Hospital.
First up is the Mustangs' home opener against No. 23 Gonzaga (5-1-0) at 7 p.m. Thursday, then Cal Poly (1-2-1) will cap its two-match homestand at noon Sunday by facing No. 8 Santa Clara (6-0-1).
FOLLOW CAL POLY THIS WEEK: Both matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Daniel Gillman on the call. You can find links for live stats and both broadcasts above, and on the women's soccer schedule page on GoPoly.com. During Thursday's match, the Mustangs will be raising awareness for ALS and promoting the second annual Central Coast Ride and Rally to Defeat ALS on Saturday, Sept. 16, in San Luis Obispo. Follow Cal Poly women's soccer on X (@CPWomensSoccer) for live updates throughout both home matches.
CAL POLY VERSUS GONZAGA: Thursday's match marks the fifth all-time meeting between the Mustangs and Bulldogs. Cal Poly is 1-3-0 all-time against the Zags and this is the third straight season the two sides have squared off.
SCOUTING GONZAGA: The Bulldogs are one of the highest scoring teams in the nation, burying 26 goals this fall and averaging over four goals per match — both ranked in the top five in Division I. Gonzaga is ranked eighth nationally in shots on goal per game (10.83) and has three players with four or more goals this season — Kate Doyle, Giana Riley and Marissa Garcia. Doyle, a redshirt junior forward, leads the Zags with 16 total points (seven goals, two assists) which is ranked 16th nationally. Gonzaga has defeated Houston Christian, Hawai'i, Weber State, Oklahoma and Utah Tech this season with their lone loss coming in a 3-1 home defeat to Nebraska on Aug. 27.
CAL POLY VERSUS SANTA CLARA: This is the Mustangs' 22nd all-time meeting with the Broncos with their last matchup occurring on Sept. 21, 2018, in Santa Clara.
SCOUTING SANTA CLARA: The two-time national champions own victories over San Jose State, Oregon State, Washington, Seattle, Columbia and James Madison this season — posting shutouts in three of them. On Thursday in Berkeley, Santa Clara earned a scoreless draw at Cal, who beat the Mustangs 2-0 this past Sunday. Five Broncos have scored two or more goals this season, led by midfielder Sally Menti (two goals, four assists) and forward Farrah Walters (three goals, two assists) who each have eight points on the season. Santa Clara is unbeaten in its first seven matches (6-0-1) for the first time in 12 years.
CAREER FIRSTS: Three Mustangs have registered their first collegiate point so far this season. Junior Emily Nedom buried her first career goal in the win over LMU on Aug. 27, while sophomore Brennan Cole earned a secondary assist on the score — the first of her career. Sophomore Jessie Halladay scored her first career goal in the season opener against Fresno State and tallied a goal and an assist against her former school in the victory over the Lions. In addition, eight 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 and Annika Smith.
NEVER COMING OFF THE PITCH: Junior center back Emma Brown played all 90 minutes in Sunday's loss at Cal upping her consecutive minutes played streak to 990 (11 straight matches). Across her Cal Poly career, Brown has started in 40 matches, playing every minute in 35 of them. The 2022 All-Big West First Team selection was one of 12 players named to the All-Big West Preseason Coaches 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, but also have 15 newcomers this fall — 12 freshmen and three transfers.
HOLDING IT DOWN: Junior Mackenzie Samuel posted her 14th career clean sheet in the 2-0 victory over LMU, earning Big West Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career. She also made five saves in that match to move to No. 10 on Cal Poly's all-time career saves list. The 2022 Big West Goalkeeper of the Year owns a .773 save percentage and a 1.25 goals against average this season and has made 17 saves across four starts.
ON POINT: Cal Poly is currently ranked 25th in the nation in shot accuracy (58.3 percent).
FUN FACT: Following this week, the Mustangs will have faced three ranked opponents this fall, their most in a season since taking on four in 2018.
UP NEXT: The Mustangs travel to rival UC Santa Barbara on Thursday, Sept. 14, to open Big West play.
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