UC Santa Barbara
Cal Poly Renews Blue-Green Rivalry Sunday on ESPNU
10/4/2024 1:56:00 PM | Men's Soccer
It's going to be a fun one to compete in. We know [UC Santa Barbara] have an exciting group of attacking players, but we love the opportunity to compete in front of one of the largest crowds in collegiate soccer. The atmosphere will be electric and we'll be ready to go."-- Cal Poly Head Coach Oige Kennedy
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Eight days after dealing UC Santa Barbara a 2-0 defeat in the opening leg of the 2024 Blue-Green rivalry series, the Cal Poly men’s soccer program visits the 22nd-ranked Gauchos – this time for points in the Big West table – on Sunday, Oct. 6. Kickoff from Harder Stadium is 4 p.m. on ESPNU and ESPN+ for Cal Poly (4-3-3, 1-0-0), which enters the clash unbeaten in six straight – the program’s lengthiest such streak since 2015. Seeking its first victory at UC Santa Barbara (7-2-1, 1-0-0) since 2012 – a span of 10 seasons and 10 matches – Cal Poly began Big West action Wednesday with a 1-0 win at UC Davis. The Gauchos, meanwhile, rallied from a Wednesday halftime deficit at home to top UC San Diego, 3-1, making Sunday’s matchup the first meeting between the two sides with first place in the Big West standings on the line since Oct. 24, 2015. Both Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara feature the stingiest defenses in the Big West having allowed just eight goals apiece (four of Cal Poly’s, however, have been opposition penalties). With a 4-0-1 mark at home this year, UC Santa Barbara – which dropped from No. 13 to 22 in the United Soccer Coaches top 25 poll following the loss at Cal Poly – leads the Big West in goals scored (22), goal margin (1.4) and shot attempts (131).
THE FIRST TIME AROUND: Scheduled as both program’s final non-conference match, Cal Poly’s 2-0 home victory against then-No. 13 UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 28) was decided in part by a 12th-minute header from senior captain Nate Colley and 71st-minute penalty by sophomore midfielder Diego Guerra. The win was Cal Poly’s first against the rival Gauchos since 2018 and first against a ranked foe since a 2-1 decision versus No. 24 Loyola Marymount (Sept. 26, 2019).
CAL POLY VERSUS UC SANTA BARBARA: Cal Poly broke a nine-match, six-year win drought against the Gauchos with a 2-0 home triumph (Sept. 28). Cal Poly’s most frequent opponent at the Division I level, UC Santa Barbara leads the series, 31-16-10.
A HARDER PLACE TO WIN: While Cal Poly is undefeated at home versus UC Santa Barbara in 10 of the previous 15 matchups, the Mustangs have won just once at Harder Stadium in the past 24 years and 25 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.
Unbeaten in six straight, Cal Poly visits Blue-Green rival UC Santa Barbara on Sunday, Oct. 6 in a nationally-televised broadcast on ESPNU. Kickoff is 4 p.m.#RideHighhttps://t.co/BcD4WDXSKQ
— Cal Poly Men’s Soccer (@CPMensSoccer) October 4, 2024
CENTRAL COAST SERIES A TIGHTLY CONTESTED AFFAIR: Twenty-three of the last 32 matches between Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara have been decided by one goal or drawn. Seven of Cal Poly’s nine victories in the last 34 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 10 of the last 15 years while UC Santa Barbara has lost exactly once at home to Cal Poly in the last 25 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 31 of the top 70 regular season crowd figures in NCAA history with all matches occurring during the previous 17 seasons. The matchup at Mustang Memorial Field at Spanos Stadium has sold out all 11,075 seats in 11 of the last 16 seasons. The 24 combined matches between Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara during the last 12 years comprise 24 of the 32 highest attended collegiate soccer games in the United States – including NCAA Tournament and College Cup matches. Since the start of the 2007 season, 334,936 total spectators and an average of 9,570 fans per match have witnessed Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara clash on 35 occasions.
MAHONEY’S SCORING FORM: Second among Big West players with 24 shot attempts, freshman midfielder Quinn Mahoney’s 11 attempts on target this season have yielded goals in three of Cal Poly’s last five matches to help fuel the program’s six-game unbeaten run. A redshirt during his first year on campus last season, Mahoney – one of six Mustangs to start all 10 matches – also owns assists at Tulsa (Sept. 1), during Cal Poly’s 3-0 home victory versus Gonzaga (Sept. 8) and in a 1-0 road triumph at UC Davis (Oct. 2).
OFFENSE IN FOCUS: After failing to find the back of the opposition net in the first three matches this season, Cal Poly has scored 11 times in its last seven outings. Ranked third among Big West programs with 118 shot attempts – just 13 behind leader UC Santa Barbara – Cal Poly has featured eight different goalscorers already this season with junior forward Oren Stuppel joining list at UC Davis Oct. 2)
MCCUNE IN FRAME: Having conceded just once from open play during his previous 536 minutes, junior goalkeeper Nicky McCune enters Saturday’s match at UC Santa Barbara ranked 32nd among NCAA Division I goalkeepers with a 0.80 goals against average. He also leads the Big West with a .778 save percentage and five shutouts and ranks third with 896 minutes played. Overall this season, McCune – the Sept. 9 and 30 Big West Defensive Player of the Week selection – has allowed just four goals from open play (the remaining four being penalties). Earning his first career shutout in a season-opening, scoreless draw at San Francisco (Aug. 22), McCune produced successive clean sheets in home victories against San Jose State (Sept. 5) and Gonzaga (Sept. 8). After making a career best six saves in a 1-1 draw at Utah Tech (Sept. 16), he picked up his fourth career shutout in Cal Poly’s 2-0 home win against UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 28) and fifth in a 1-0 victory at UC Davis (Oct. 2).
UP NEXT (OCT. 9/12): Cal Poly plays the first two of its four home Big West matches when welcoming Sacramento State (Wednesday, Oct. 9) and UC Riverside (Saturday, Oct. 12). Kickoff is 7 p.m. both evenings for Cal Poly, which is undefeated and unscored upon at home through three matches.
ETC.: Cal Poly is in its 30th Division I season and 23rd as a Big West member … Cal Poly was selected fifth in the Aug. 19 release of the Big West Preseason Coaches poll … Cal Poly’s 1-0 setback at Oral Roberts (Aug. 29) and 3-2 loss at Tulsa (Sept. 1) marked the program’s first all-time games in the state of Oklahoma … Cal Poly’s 1-1 draw at Utah Tech (Sept. 16) marked the program’s first all-time matchup against the Trailblazers … the 9,657-fan attendance figure for Cal Poly’s 2-0 home victory against UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 28) marked the 32nd largest regular season figure in NCAA history and the largest crowd in the nation this season by more than 3,000 fans … Cal Poly’s 2-0 home victory against UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 28) was its first against the Gauchos since 2018 and first against a ranked foe since a 2-1 decision versus No. 24 Loyola Marymount (Sept. 26, 2019).
