5-2-8, 3-2-1
Cal State Fullerton
10-2-2, 3-2-1
Smith's Brace Powers Cal Poly to 2-0 Win Over Titans
10/12/2025 9:48:00 PM | Women's Soccer
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Junior Annika Smith netted her third career brace and fourth multi-goal game to propel the Cal Poly women’s soccer team to a decisive 2-0 home victory over Cal State Fullerton on Sunday.
The Mustangs (5-2-8, 3-2-1 Big West) completely shut down the Titans (10-2-2, 3-2-1 BW), holding them to three shots in the match, including just one on goal. The Titans received votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches national poll and Sunday’s loss was just their second of the season.
With the victory, Cal Poly moved into a three-way tie for third place in the Big West standings with four matches remaining in the season. With 10 points in the conference table, they trail first-place UC Santa Barbara and CSUN by just 1 point.
“I’m incredibly proud of the execution of the scout, the execution of the game plan and the fighting spirit,” head coach Bernardo Silva said after the match, “… this is what this team is capable of. We can beat anybody.”
Sunday’s shutout was Cal Poly’s sixth of the season. The Mustangs also improved their home unbeaten streak (2-0-5) to seven, their longest home unbeaten streak since a nine-match stretch spanning the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
In the 37th minute, redshirt freshman goalkeeper Shannon Porubski turned away the Titans’ only shot on goal of the match, reaching up with her fist to poke a blistering shot by Kayalily Penn from distance over the top of the net. The fantastic save allowed the match to remain scoreless at halftime.
After controlling the entire first half, Cal Poly finally got on the board in the 52nd minute thanks to an incredible individual effort by Smith. The Scottsdale, Arizona native picked up the ball just past midfield, dribbled forward and sliced her way through three Cal State Fullerton defenders before blasting a shot from about 25 yards out to the bottom left corner of the net.
Clinging to a 1-0 lead, the Mustangs continued to stay on the front foot and their persistence paid off with just under 10 minutes remaining in the match. Freshman Farra Franklin fed a pass to Smith just inside the 18-yard box and the star forward took a touch and then fired a shot with her right foot to the back of the net for her second goal of the match. The goal sealed the victory for the Mustangs.
“It felt super great,” Smith said about her performance, “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. We just had a major response from our last game, so I’m super proud of us and excited for the next.”
The two goals give Smith seven on the season, tied with teammate Jessie Halladay for the most in the Big West. Smith also currently leads the conference in points this year with 17 (seven goals, three assists). The assist by Franklin was the first of her collegiate career.
“Annika is the big dog,” Silva said. “She’s somebody who exemplifies chasing excellence, exemplifies grind, exemplifies team first. Annika adding two more goals to her tally … is a byproduct of everything else that she does.”
Porubski secured her fifth clean sheet of the season and Cal Poly finished with a 12-3 shot advantage in the match.
Seniors Sophia Minnite and Brennan Cole, redshirt sophomore Siena Urzua, sophomore Ava Mirelez, freshman Sam Walker and Franklin all never stepped off the pitch in the match.
“These are three big points and we’ll take them, and we’ll keep fighting for the next ones,” Silva said.
Cal Poly hits the road this coming week for a pair of matches in Southern California, taking on Long Beach State at 6 p.m. on Thursday and UC Irvine at 1 p.m. next Sunday.
Team Stats
Annika Smith (7)
GOAL by CP Smith, Annika.
51:00
Annika Smith (7)
Assisted By: Farra Franklin
GOAL by CP Smith, Annika Assist by Franklin, Farra.
80:24
