Mustangs Eye Big West Regular Season Title Sunday Against CSUN

Sunday, October 26

San Luis Obispo, CA

12 P.M.

CSUN

Tickets

Jessie Halladay, Cal State Fullerton, 101225

Photo by: Chloe Briote-Johnson

Mustangs Eye Big West Regular Season Title Sunday Against CSUN

10/26/2025 7:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — With a Big West regular season title up for grabs, first-place Cal Poly women’s soccer hosts second-place CSUN at noon on Sunday in a showdown at Spanos Stadium.

The regular season finale is set to be the most pivotal match of the season for the Mustangs (8-2-8, 6-2-1 Big West) who will be looking to secure the No. 1 seed in the Big West Championships and a first-round bye directly to the semifinals of the tournament with a victory. The first 500 arriving fans will receive a free Cal Poly Soccer scarf. Tickets to the match can be purchased HERE.

Follow Cal Poly Women’s Soccer!

Sunday’s Big West showdown will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Max Kelton and Jonathan Sze on the call. You can find links to watch the match and follow the live stats within this story and on the women’s soccer schedule page. Follow Cal Poly women's soccer on Instagram (@calpolysoccer) and X/Twitter (@CPWomensSoccer) for live updates throughout the match.

What’s at Stake? — Everything

Currently sitting in first place in the Big West standings with one match left in their season, all the Mustangs need is a victory on Sunday to secure their 10th Big West regular season title overall and ninth outright. With 19 points in the conference table, Cal Poly is 2 points in front of second-place CSUN (7-7-3 overall, 5-1-2 BW) and four clear of third-place UC Santa Barbara (11-3-4, 4-1-3 BW).
If the Mustangs capture the Big West regular season title on Sunday, they will earn the No. 1 seed in the six-team Big West Championship and the right to host the semifinals of the tournament on Thursday, Nov. 6, and the championship match on Sunday, Nov. 9.
Cal Poly last won the regular season title in 2022, securing at least a share of the conference regular season title in back-to-back years for just the second time in program history after finishing in a tie atop the conference table with UC Irvine in 2021.
With a draw Sunday against CSUN, Cal Poly would still have a chance to win the Big West regular season title and receive a bye from the opening round of the conference tournament, but would have to wait until the final day of the regular season on Thursday to learn its fate. Entering Sunday, every other team in the Big West has two regular season matches left, while Cal Poly has just the one on Sunday.
A loss on Sunday would eliminate the Mustangs from contention for the Big West regular season title.

Scouting Report: CSUN

Noon Sunday at Mustang Memorial Field Presented by Dignity Health French Hospital at Alex G. Spanos Stadium
Cal Poly earned a 2-0 victory in Northridge a year ago and leads the all-time series with the Matadors 12-9-3.
The Mustangs have won four consecutive matches against CSUN with their last loss coming on Oct. 10, 2019 in Northridge 2-0.
CSUN saw a school record seven-match shutout streak snapped on Thursday at UC Santa Barbara, falling 2-0 to the Gauchos. It was the Matadors’ first loss since suffering a 1-0 defeat to Sacramento State at home on Sept. 11.
The Matadors are led by redshirt senior goalkeeper Riley Liebsack. She has recorded nine shutouts this season — second most in the Big West — and is third in the conference in save percentage (.838) and fourth in goals against average (.765).
Senior forward Cailey Jackson has scored five goals this season, tied for sixth most in the Big West.

Postseason Berth Secured in Dramatic Fashion

Cal Poly secured a spot in the Big West tournament for the 15th time in program history with a dramatic 1-0 victory over UC Riverside on Thursday at Spanos.
In the 86th minute, redshirt freshman forward Ashley Brewer buried her first collegiate goal to propel Cal Poly to its fourth straight victory and to the top of the Big West table.
The four consecutive victories are the most by the Mustangs since winning five straight during the 2021 season.
Thursday’s shutout was Cal Poly’s eighth this season, the team’s most since recording 10 during the 2022 season.
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Shannon Porubski made one save in the match to secure her seventh clean sheet of the season.
The Mustangs improved their home unbeaten streak to eight matches (3-0-5), their longest since a nine-match stretch spanning the 2012 and 2013 seasons. On Sunday against CSUN, Cal Poly is seeking to finish the regular season unbeaten at home for the just fifth time in program history (1992, 1993, 2003, 2004) and the first time in 21 years.

The Facts

Cal Poly is 8-0-5 when they score first in a match this season. They are 0-2-1 when they score second and have played to two scoreless draws this season.
Halladay is currently tied with Ashley Vallis (2005-08) for 14th all-time in career points at Cal Poly with 43.
With 73 career starts, senior outside back Camryn Penn is currently No. 6 all-time in Cal Poly history.
Penn and junior forward Annika Smith have started in 27 consecutive matches for the Mustangs.
Penn, Smith, graduate student Madelyn Dougherty and senior Brennan Cole are the only players that have started in all 18 matches this season.
Cole leads the Mustangs in minutes played this season (1,574). She has played every minute in 14 of 18 matches.

Big West Weekly Praise

After scoring two goals and netting the game winner in both victories this past week, graduate student midfielder Madelyn Dougherty was crowned the Big West Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Monday. This is the fourth time a Mustang has won the award this season.
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Shannon Porubski was named the Big West Freshman of the Week for the second straight week and the fourth time this season on Monday after allowing just one goal across Cal Poly’s two victories this past week in Southern California.

The Mustang Trio

Cal Poly currently has the top three point scorers in the Big West this season. Senior forward Jessie Halladay leads the way with 18, while graduate student Madelyn Dougherty and junior forward Annika Smith are tied for second in the Big West with 17 points. Dougherty leads the Big West with seven assists this season, while Halladay and Smith are tied for the conference lead in goals with seven.

Cal Poly Debuts

Through 18 matches, 11 players have made their first appearance in a Cal Poly uniform. Redshirt freshman Shannon Porubski, and freshmen Addie Crosno, Farra Franklin, Kammy MacLennan, Izzy Matteson and Sam Walker have all made their collegiate debuts, while transfers Ruby Casey, Madelyn Dougherty, Ava Mirelez, Julia Moore and Alyssa Szarlacki have all played their first minutes as Mustangs.

New Year, New Team

On top of a new head coach, the Mustangs boast 14 newcomers this season — eight transfers and six freshmen.
Cal Poly returns 12 letterwinners and three All-Big West Honorable Mention selections from last year’s team — senior forward Jessie Halladay, senior midfielder Sophia Minnite and junior forward Annika Smith.

Experienced Transfers

The eight transfers the Mustangs added over the offseason have combined for 15,646 minutes played, 209 appearances and 174 starts across their collegiate careers.
Six of the eight transfers are California natives with half of the players transferring from schools within the state of California.
The transfers: forward Shelby Runje (University of Washington/Issaquah, WA), midfielders Ruby Casey (Miami University, Ohio/Orange, CA), Madelyn Dougherty (Sacramento State/Kula, HI) and Julia Moore (Long Beach State/Santa Cruz, CA), defenders Ava Mirelez (Cal State Fullerton/Clovis, CA), Michelle Pham (San Francisco State/Garden Grove, CA) and Ally Thomas (Ole Miss/Newport Beach, CA) and goalkeeper Alyssa Szarlacki (Nevada/San Jose, CA).
Thoughts from coach Silva on the incoming transfers: “As a staff, we made the decision this offseason to fill a couple of positions that we believed required more depth, quality, and experience for us to be able to compete for a Big West Championship this fall. Players with great character, college playing experience and coming from environments where winning is ingrained in the culture were some of the most important traits we set out to add to our locker room.”

Firepower Upfront

Senior Jessie Halladay and junior Annika Smith are the two centerpieces to Cal Poly’s attack.
The duo was the Mustangs’ top two point getters a year ago, combining for nine goals, three assists and 21 points.
Halladay was one of 11 players selected to the All-Big West Preseason Coaches Team, earning preseason accolades for the first time in her career. The Los Gatos native has led the Mustangs in points each of the last two seasons, earning All-Big West Honorable Mention recognition a year ago after tallying four goals and three assists across 16 appearances. Across her Cal Poly career, Halladay has recorded 16 goals and 11 assists across 51 appearances and 27 starts.
Smith led the team in goals last season with five, tied for the seventh most in the Big West. She appeared in all 19 matches, earning a start in 18 of them en route to earning All-Big West accolades for the second straight season. The Scottsdale, Arizona native has registered 16 goals and six assists during her Mustang career across 57 appearances and 55 starts.

Leading the Stampede

Seniors Jessie Halladay and Camryn Penn, and redshirt junior Sophia Minnite are the team’s three captains this season.
The experienced trio has combined for 183 appearances and 136 starts across their Cal Poly careers.

The Silva Era

Bernardo Silva was named the second head coach in the history of the Cal Poly women’s soccer program in December 2024.
Silva previously served as an assistant coach on the Cal Poly staff from 2013-16 under the guidance of legendary coach Alex Crozier, who retired at the conclusion of the 2024 season after serving as the program’s head coach for 33 years.
Silva arrives in San Luis Obispo after spending the last two seasons as the head coach at Cal State Bakersfield (2023-24). In 2024, Silva helped CSUB women’s soccer become the first team in the school’s history to reach a Big West Championship final since the institution joined the conference. Under Silva’s leadership, the Roadrunners set Big West program records for conference points, victories, goals scored, fewest goals conceded and All-Big West honorees. Silva also helped the Roadrunners achieve their longest unbeaten streak in program history and highest finish ever in the Big West regular season standings.

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