8-2-8, 6-2-1
UC Riverside
0-14-2, 0-7-1
Cal Poly Secures Postseason Berth, Takes Over First Place in Big West
10/23/2025 11:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Cal Poly women’s soccer team took over sole possession of first place in the Big West with a thrilling 1-0 victory over UC Riverside on Thursday night at Spanos Stadium.
Redshirt freshman Ashley Brewer’s first career goal in the 86th minute propelled Cal Poly (8-2-8, 6-2-1 Big West) to its fourth straight win and to the top of the conference table.
“What a fight, what a game, what a battle,” head coach Bernardo Silva said after the match, “… I’m just incredibly proud of our ability to find a way and what a perfect time for Ashley Brewer to get her first career goal.”
Cal Poly’s win coupled with a 2-0 loss by CSUN at UC Santa Barbara on Thursday allowed the Mustangs to jump into first place in the conference at 19 points with one match remaining in their season. The Mustangs host the Matadors (7-7-3, 5-1-2 BW) at noon Sunday in their regular season finale and with a victory would clinch the outright Big West regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the Big West Championship. Cal Poly currently sits 2 points in front of second-place CSUN.
The Mustangs, who locked up a spot in the conference tournament with Thursday’s win, controlled the match throughout, finishing with a 67 percent possession advantage. However, Cal Poly struggled to find that finishing touch for most of the match.
After earning a 10-4 shot advantage in the first 45 minutes, Cal Poly looked eager to find a goal in the early moments of the second half.
In the 58th minute, Cal Poly generated one of its most dangerous chances of the night when sophomore midfielder Kiki Vostermans played a through ball from beyond midfield to a blazing Annika Smith up the right hand side. The junior forward drove inside the box and fed a pass over to a wide open Jessie Halladay in front, who saw a shot destined for the back of the net saved and cleared out of play by a UC Riverside defender.
After creating many quality opportunities, Cal Poly finally broke through with less than five minutes remaining in the match on a chance that came out of nowhere. Following a kick sent forward by the UCR goalkeeper, the ball found its way to redshirt sophomore defender Siena Urzua on Cal Poly’s side of midfield. The Santa Barbara native blasted the ball forward 45 yards where a hard driving Halladay got a touch on the ball before crashing into UCR’s keeper. From there the ball fell to the foot of Brewer, who flicked a shot with her left to the right corner of the net to give Cal Poly a well deserved 1-0 lead.
“That goal just resulted from everyone’s hard work today and it took the whole team to come out with the win,” Brewer said after the match, “and I think it was our way of proving that all the hard work we’ve put in since January has paid off and we’re still not done.”
For the San Luis Obispo native, Thursday’s game-winner was truly something special.
“I meant a lot to me because … I grew up watching these games and to be able to get the chance to come out and play here and get my first career goal today was an amazing feeling,” Brewer said.
Urzua registered her second career assist on the tally, while Halladay’s primary assist allowed her to take over the Big West lead in points with 18 on the season. Halladay also moved into a tie with Ashley Vallis (2005-08) for 14th all-time in career points at Cal Poly with 43.
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Shannon Porubski made one save to secure her seventh clean sheet of the season. It was Cal Poly’s eighth shutout as a team this season and the Mustangs improved their home unbeaten streak to eight matches, their longest since a nine-match stretch spanning the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
Halladay finished with a game-high six shots in the match.
“We’ll celebrate tonight and get back to work tomorrow because we’ve got a big one on Sunday.”
Tickets to Sunday’s regular season finale at noon against CSUN can be purchased HERE. The match will also be televised on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Ashley Brewer (1)
Assisted By: Jessie Halladay , Siena Urzua
GOAL by CP Brewer, Ashley Assist by Halladay, Jessie and Urzua, Siena.
85:44
