Cal Poly Hits the Road for the First Time to Face Sacramento State, Pacific

Thursday, August 29

Sacramento, CA / Hornet Field

1 P.M.

Sacramento State

Cal Poly Hits the Road for the First Time to Face Sacramento State, Pacific

8/27/2024 5:30:00 PM | Women's Soccer

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — After opening its season with three straight home matches, the Cal Poly women’s soccer team hits the road for the first time this week for a pair of matches.

The Mustangs (0-2-1) visit Sacramento State on Thursday at 1 p.m. and then head to Pacific at 1 p.m. on Sunday to wrap up their two-match road trip.

Cal Poly is looking for its first win of the season this week in Northern California after battling some stiff competition to open its 2024 campaign. The Mustangs secured a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Portland, who they lost to 2-0 a year ago, to kick things off on Aug. 15 before suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat to Fresno State on Aug. 18. This past Thursday, the Mustangs had arguably their strongest performance of the season as they went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the nation. UCLA, who rose from No. 6 to No. 3 in this week’s national rankings, grabbed a 1-0 win, but Cal Poly put up quite the fight against the 2022 national champions and made the Bruins scrape and claw for every offensive opportunity they earned. A 70th-minute goal by the Bruins was the difference, but the Mustangs showed they are on the verge of putting it all together.

"We're getting better every week," head coach Alex Crozier said after the loss to UCLA. "… We're already good, but we're going to be very good, very soon."

Both matches this week will be streamed live on ESPN+. You can find links to live stats and both broadcasts above and on the Cal Poly women’s soccer schedule page.

SUPPORT WOMEN'S SOCCER

Upcoming Schedule

Mustangs Return Home on Sept. 5!

Sep 14, 2025 at 7 P.M.

Women's Soccer vs

Seattle

Sep 18, 2025 at 7 P.M.

Women's Soccer at

UC Santa Barbara

Sep 25, 2025 at 7 P.M.

Women's Soccer vs

UC San Diego

Sep 28, 2025 at 1 P.M.

Women's Soccer at

UC Davis

Scouting Report: Sacramento State

Thursday, 1 p.m. at Hornet Field.
Sacramento State enters this week with a 1-1-1 record and most recently secured a 1-1 draw at home against UC Santa Barbara last Thursday after scoring an equalizing goal with less than two minutes remaining. The Hornets opened the year with a 2-0 loss at UC Davis before securing a 3-1 win over Houston Christian on Aug. 17.
Cal Poly leads the all-time series with the Hornets 8-2-0 and has won the last two matchups. In their last meeting on Aug. 28, 2022, the Mustangs earned a 1-0 victory at Sacramento State thanks to a goal in the 80th minute.
Sophomore midfielder Ellie Farber has scored in the last two matches for the Hornets and leads the team with 5 points (two goals, one assist).
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Izzy Palmatier has started in net in all three matches for the Hornets, recording 10 saves and allowing four goals while facing 46 shots. She has a 1.33 goals against average and a .714 save percentage.
Sacramento State was picked to finish fifth in the Big Sky Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.

Scouting Report: Pacific

Sunday, 1 p.m. at Knoles Field.
Pacific (1-2-0) hosts New Mexico State on Thursday before squaring off with the Mustangs on Sunday.
Cal Poly is 18-3-1 all-time against Pacific and has won the last five meetings with the Tigers. Last year, the Mustangs captured a 3-1 victory over the Tigers in San Luis Obispo on Senior Day. Whitney Wiley and Annika Smith both scored their first goal as a Mustang in that match.
Pacific opened the year with a 2-1 home victory over Houston Christian, but has been shut out in its last two matches, falling to Arizona 5-0 on Aug. 18 and UC Davis 3-0 this past Sunday.
Forward Taylor Curtis and midfielder Alexis Pashales have scored the two goals for the Tigers this season.
Sophomore Davy Libby has started in net in all three matches for the Tigers, recording 11 saves, a 3.42 goals against average and a .550 save percentage while allowing nine goals on 38 shots faced.
Pacific was picked to finish in a tie for eighth place in the West Coast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.

The Full Ninety

Senior goalkeeper Mackenzie Samuel made fives in last Thursday’s 1-0 loss to No. 6 UCLA, earning her Mechanics Bank Student-Athlete of the Week honors. With seven saves this season, Samuel has moved to No. 9 on Cal Poly’s all-time list in career saves (157). Last year, the San Diego native tied a program record for matches started in a season by a goalkeeper (21).
Senior defender Emma Brown is the only Mustang that has played all 90 minutes in all three matches this season. Entering Thursday’s match at Sacramento State, Brown has started in 47 consecutive matches for the Mustangs and 60 of the 63 she has appeared in during her Cal Poly career, racking up nearly 5,410 minutes on the pitch without receiving a card.
Brown has played every minute in 53 matches during her Mustang career.

Freshman Firsts

Four Mustangs have made their collegiate debut so far this season — freshmen Avery Chaney, Lauren Collier, Kiki Vostermans and Lilly Cole.
Lilly Cole has started in all three matches for the Mustangs at outside back, along with her older sister, junior Brennan Cole.
Midfielder Kiki Vostermans has started in Cal Poly’s last two matches and tallied her first collegiate point in the season opener against Portland, assisting on Emily Nedom's goal in the 34th minute.
Defender Lauren Collier made her first appearance in the battle with UCLA.

The Most Returners in the Nation

Experience is something the Mustangs aren't 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 146 appearances and 139 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.

Follow Cal Poly Women's Soccer!

Follow Cal Poly women's soccer on Instagram (@calpolysoccer) and X/Twitter (@CPWomensSoccer) for live updates throughout all home and road matches.

After this two-match road trip, Cal Poly returns to Mustang Memorial Field at Spanos Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 5, to host LMU for a 4:30 p.m. match. You can purchase tickets to the match HERE.