UC Davis
Cal Poly Hosts UC Davis Sunday in Big West Championship Semifinals
11/7/2024 12:31:00 PM | Men's Soccer
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Having already secured its first Big West regular season title in program history, the Cal Poly men’s soccer team now pursues its first Big West Championship title and the conference’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid with the top-seeded Mustangs hosting No. 4 UC Davis for a Sunday, Nov. 10 semifinal at Mustang Memorial Field. Kickoff on ESPN+ is 2 p.m. for Cal Poly (7-4-7), which – fueled by junior forward Conner Lisenbee’s 87th-minute goal in a 1-0, season-finale victory against Cal State Bakersfield – claimed the Big West regular season title on 16 points. Cal Poly, which has never previously reached the Big West Championship final in 10 prior appearances, produced a 1-0 win against the Aggies in the Oct. 2 conference opener after being eliminated at UC Davis by the same score in last season’s Big West Championship opening round. UC Davis (9-5-5) reached Sunday’s semifinal by outlasting Cal State Bakersfield at home in Wednesday’s opening round, 2-1. Second-seeded UC Santa Barbara (10-4-4) hosts No. 3 UC Irvine (8-7-3) in Saturday evening’s first semifinal. The Big West Championship final is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 15 with Cal Poly set to host should the Mustangs progress Sunday.
GOING TO THE SPOT: Should any Big West Tournament game be drawn after 90 minutes, two, 10-minute, non-golden goal periods will be employed. Still drawn after that, penalties will be used to determine the advancing side. Cal Poly has been involved in just one penalty shootout in Division I history, eliminated at UC Santa Barbara in the 2008 semifinals, 4-3, after the match finished, 2-2.
CAL POLY AT THE BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP: The Mustangs have qualified for 10 of the 15 Big West Championships since the competition was revived in 2008, but have progressed beyond their opening match just once. That occasion occurred in 2015, when the Mustangs defeated UC Irvine in the opening round (1-0) before being eliminated at Cal State Fullerton (3-1) in the semifinals (Cal Poly then was an at-large selection for that year’s NCAA Tournament). Previously, in a four-team Big West Championship format, Cal Poly has been eliminated at UC Santa Barbara (2008, 2010), at home by UC Irvine (2009) and at CSUN (2012-13). In a six-team format, Cal Poly has been eliminated in the opening round by at home by Cal State Fullerton (2019) and UC Riverside (2021) and at UC Davis (2023). Since 2008, Cal Poly is 1-8-1 at the Big West Championship.
CAL POLY VERSUS UC DAVIS: The Mustangs snapped a three-match slide against UC Davis with a 1-0 road win (Oct. 2) fueled by junior forward Oren Stuppel’s 27th-minute goal. UC Davis leads the Division I series, 16-14-4 with the Mustangs having prevailed just twice in the previous eight matchups.
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— Cal Poly Men’s Soccer (@CPMensSoccer) November 7, 2024
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Big West Championship semifinal!#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/ab9iGkwYMr
HISTORIC DEFENSIVE EFFORT CARRIES CAL POLY: Featuring one of the nation’s stingiest defenses, Cal Poly leads the Big West and ranks second among 205 NCAA Division I programs in goals against average (0.67) and fewest goals conceded (12, though six are penalties) – two marks well on pace to break the standing program records for goals against average (0.88, 2021) and goals allowed (17, 2011). Cal Poly’s nine shutouts in 18 regular season matches is a mark one shy of the program record established in 2007. Cal Poly remains undefeated this season at Mustang Memorial Field with just two goals conceded in 630 minutes and seven matches.
MCCUNE IN FRAME: Having conceded just three times during his last 10 appearances and 937 minutes, junior goalkeeper Nicky McCune – the 2024 Big West Goalkeeper of the Year honoree – enters Sunday’s semifinal leading the Big West and ranked second among NCAA goalkeepers with a 0.62 goals against average, third with eight solo shutouts, and fifth in save percentage (.833). Overall this season, McCune – a program record four-time Big West Defensive Player of the Week selection – has allowed just six goals from open play (the remaining five against him 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 six saves in a 1-1 draw at Utah Tech (Sept. 16), he picked up successive shutouts in Cal Poly’s 2-0 home win against UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 28), 1-0 victory at UC Davis (Oct. 2) and scoreless draw at UC Santa Barbara (Oct. 6). His sixth shutout came at home to UC Riverside (Oct. 12) while the seventh occurred in a 1-0 victory at Cal State Fullerton (Oct. 19). Making a career best seven saves to preserve a 1-1 home draw with UC Irvine (Oct. 23), McCune chalked up shutout No. 8 in Cal Poly’s 1-0, Big West regular season title-clinching victory against Cal State Bakersfield (Nov. 2).
MAHONEY TOPS THE OFFENSIVE CHARTS: Second among Big West players with 43 shot attempts, midfielder and Big West Freshman of the Year honoree Quinn Mahoney’s 18 attempts on target this season have yielded a team leading four goals to help fuel the program’s run to the Big West regular season title. A redshirt during his first year on campus last season, Mahoney – a starter in 17 of 18 matches – also leads Cal Poly and ranks fourth in the Big West with five assists.
OFFENSE IN FOCUS: After failing to find the back of the opposition net in the first three matches this season, Cal Poly has scored 18 times in its last 15 outings. Ranked fourth among Big West programs in scoring margin (plus-0.21), Cal Poly has featured 11 different goalscorers this season with sophomore defender Joaquin Torres joining list with his free-kick goal at CSUN (Oct. 26).
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 33rd largest regular season figure in NCAA history and the second 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) … the 9,985-fan figure for Cal Poly’s scoreless draw at UC Santa Barbara (Oct. 6) marked the largest collegiate soccer crowd in the nation this season and the 29th largest regular season figure in NCAA history … the draw at UCSB also helped Cal Poly cement its first unbeaten regular season against the rival Gauchos since 2015 … Cal Poly’s nine-game unbeaten run from Sept. 5-Oct. 12 was the program’s lengthiest since a record 11-match stretch in 2007.
Six Mustangs earned All-Big West praise Tuesday as Cal Poly took a record four individual honors:
— Cal Poly Men’s Soccer (@CPMensSoccer) November 5, 2024
1?Nicky McCune: Goalkeeper of the Year
2?Parker Owens: Defender of the Year
3?Quinn Mahoney: Freshman of the Year
4?Oige Kennedy: Coach of the Year#RideHigh https://t.co/0AEGYbLQpq
