Thursday, August 22
San Luis Obispo, CA
7 P.M.
vs
UCLA
Cal Poly Caps Season-Opening Homestand Against No. 6 UCLA
8/21/2024 9:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Home Match
Central Coast Soccer Appreciation Night / ALS Awareness Night
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SecsSAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Cal Poly women’s soccer team wraps up a three-match homestand to open the 2024 season on Thursday, hosting No. 6 UCLA (2-0-0) at Mustang Memorial Field at Spanos Stadium. First kick is set for 7 p.m.
Thursday's match is Central Coast Soccer Appreciation Night for the women's soccer program and to celebrate all soccer teams (youth, adult, recreation and competitive) on the Central Coast are invited to attend the match for just $10 using the promo code CCSAN or by buying tickets HERE. Cal Poly will also be raising awareness for ALS during the match and promoting the third annual Central Coast Ride & Rally to Cure ALS happening this Saturday in San Luis Obispo.
The Mustangs (0-1-1) will be eyeing a little redemption when they square off against the 2022 national champions on Thursday night. Last year in Los Angeles, Cal Poly went toe-to-toe with the No. 1-ranked team in the country for a full 90 minutes and nearly secured an incredible 1-1 draw in enemy territory. However, a late penalty called by the referee in the box allowed the Bruins to score a penalty kick goal with 1:22 left and escape with a 2-1 victory.
Keep Up With Cal Poly Women's Soccer!
Thursday’s match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Ryan Giacomini and Mark Robinson on the call. You can find links to live stats and the broadcast above and on the women’s soccer schedule page. Follow Cal Poly women's soccer and Instagram (@calpolysoccer) and on X (@CPWomensSoccer) for live updates throughout the match.
Scouting Report: UCLA
- Thursday, 7 p.m. at Mustang Memorial Field at Spanos Stadium.
- Kate Reedy scored the lone goal for Cal Poly in its 2-1 loss at UCLA last season, capitalizing on a mistake by the Bruins in the 53rd minute and burying a shot into a wide open net.
- The Mustangs played the final 34 minutes of last year’s match with just 10 players after having a player sent off in the 56th minute with her second yellow card of the night.
- Last year’s meeting on Aug. 24, 2023, in UCLA was the fifth time in program history Cal Poly faced the No. 1 team in the nation.
- Thursday’s meeting will mark just the second time Cal Poly has hosted the Bruins. The first occasion came on Sept. 5, 1996, when the Mustangs defeated No. 15 UCLA 1-0. That was also Cal Poly’s last victory over the Bruins as UCLA leads the all-time series 2-4-0 and has won the last four meetings.
- After opening the season with two shutout victories, UCLA is ranked No. 6 in the United Soccer Coaches Week 1 Poll and No. 4 in the Top Drawer Soccer national rankings.
- UCLA is the highest ranked opponent Cal Poly has hosted since the 2015 season when the Mustangs played host to No. 2 Stanford on Sept. 4, 2015, and No. 6 BYU on Sept. 24, 2015.
- The Bruins faced a pair of Big West teams this past week to open their 2024 campaign, defeating Long Beach State 3-0 on the road last Thursday and UC Riverside 3-0 in LA this past Sunday. UCLA prevented UC Riverside from recording a shot on goal and limited them to just one shot attempt.
- Forward Bridgette Marin-Valencia leads the Bruins with 5 points this season (two goals, one assist) and midfielder Emma Egizii recorded a brace in the victory at LBSU.
- Defender Lilly Reale and goalkeeper Ryan Campbell were both selected to the MAC Hermann Trophy Preseason Watch List and the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Best XI First Team.
- Last year, No. 1 seed UCLA fell to UC Irvine 1-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, finishing with a 16-2-1 overall record.
- Thursday’s match will mark the Mustangs’ first against a Big Ten opponent since defeating Minnesota 1-0 on the road on Aug. 25, 2022.
The Full Ninety
- Senior defender Emma Brown and redshirt sophomore midfielder Sophia Minnite are the only two Mustangs that have played all 90 minutes in both matches this season.
- Entering Thursday's match against UCLA, Brown has started in 46 consecutive matches for the Mustangs and 59 of the 62 she has appeared in during her Cal Poly career, racking up nearly 5,320 minutes on the pitch without receiving a card.
- Brown has played every minute in 52 matches during her Mustang career.
All the Firsts
- Three Mustangs made their collegiate debut during Cal Poly's season-opening week — freshmen Avery Chaney, Kiki Vostermans and Lilly Cole.
- Lilly Cole has started in both matches for the Mustangs this season at outside back, allowing her to play alongside her older sister, Brennan Cole.
- Kiki Vostermans earned her first career start in Sunday's 1-0 loss to Fresno State. The midfielder tallied her first collegiate point in last Thursday's season-opening 1-1 draw against Portland, assisting on Emily Nedom's goal in the 34th minute. Nedom's performance in that match earned her the first Mechanics Bank Student-Athlete of the Week Award of the 2024-25 athletic year.
- Avery Chaney made her first appearance as a Mustang in Sunday's match.
The Most Returners in the Nation
- Experience is certainly something the Mustangs won’t be lacking this fall. Cal Poly returns 26 letterwinners, 10 starters and 90 percent of its goal production from its 2023 team that advanced to the program’s ninth Big West Championship match, tied for the most all-time in conference history.
- In total, the Mustangs boast 30 returners, the most of any team in Division I this season.
- Cal Poly returns all seven of its All-Big West honorees from a year ago — senior defender Emma Brown, senior forward Kate Reedy, senior goalkeeper Mackenzie Samuel, junior defender Camryn Penn, redshirt sophomore midfielder Sophia Minnite, sophomore forward Annika Smith and sophomore midfielder Sophia Moness.
- Cal Poly has 39 players on the team this season — tied for the second most in the nation — with only nine newcomers, eight freshmen and one transfer.
Brown, Reedy Receive Preseason Praise
- Seniors Kate Reedy and Emma Brown both earned a spot on the 11-player All-Big West Preseason Coaches Team, marking the first time since 2022 the program has had multiple players secure preseason honors.
- For Reedy, this is her first time receiving All-Big West preseason accolades. Last year, the All-Big West Second Team honoree led the entire conference in game-winning goals (three), tied for the team lead in goals (five) and was second on the team in points (13).
- Brown grabbed an All-Big West Preseason selection for the second straight season. The center back was also one of 26 players in Division I tabbed as a “Defender to Watch” by the United Soccer Coaches ahead of the 2024 season. Brown is the reigning Big West Defensive Player of the Year and started in all 21 matches for the Mustangs a year ago, playing every minute in 19 of them and racking up 1,837 total minutes on the pitch, the most on the team among field players.
The Mustangs' Returning Offensive Firepower
- Cal Poly’s top seven point-getters from a year ago are all back this season, including Jessie Halladay who led the team in points with five goals and four assists.
- In 2023, the Mustangs set a program record for players to record a point in a season (21) and matched a 27-year-old program record for goal scorers in a season (15).
Building Through the Backline
- Cal Poly will rely heavily on its experience-laden backline this season, as the team brings back three of its four starters from a year ago — center backs Aynsley Conner and Emma Brown and outside back Camryn Penn.
- Between the three of them, the trio boasts 143 appearances and 136 starts across their Cal Poly careers.
- Brown and Conner are two of the Mustangs’ three captains this season, along with senior McKenna Carbon.
One Last Ride for Coach Crozier
- The Mustangs will have a little extra motivation on the pitch this fall as head coach Alex Crozier announced back in June that he will retire at the end of the 2024 season after 33 years at the helm.
- The only head coach in the history of the Cal Poly women’s soccer program, Crozier has been named the Big West Coach of the Year a record six times and enters the 2024 season ranked 23rd nationally in career victories among active Division I head coaches and No. 42 all-time with a 321-223-67 overall record.
- Crozier has led the Mustangs to 10 regular season conference championships, six NCAA Tournament appearances and three Big West Tournament titles, and he has the most career victories among Big West coaches all-time, both in conference play (127-66-30) and overall.
- He is one of the longest active tenured women’s soccer head coaches in all of Division I and has coached long enough to mentor the daughters of some of his former players.
- Cal Poly is seeking its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 20 years in Crozier’s final season this fall.
Cal Poly hits the road for the first time this season to face Sacramento State at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 29, and Pacific at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 1.
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