No. 6 UC San Diego
Mustangs Host UCSD Wednesday in Big West Championship First Round
11/4/2025 10:31:00 AM | Men's Soccer
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Having clinched a second successive Big West regular season crown on the final day for the second straight year, the Cal Poly men’s soccer program pursues its first Big West Championship title and the conference’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid when the third-seeded Mustangs host No. 6 UC San Diego for a Wednesday, Nov. 5 first round matchup. Kickoff from Mustang Memorial Field is 7 p.m. for Cal Poly (8-5-5), which secured a three-way split of the regular season title on 17 points – alongside UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara – with a 2-0 victory at Cal State Bakersfield (Nov. 1). With a result in Wednesday’s first round, Cal Poly advances to visit second-seeded UC Irvine in the Saturday, Nov. 8 semifinal round. Winners of three straight to close the year, Cal Poly dealt UC San Diego at 4-0 defeat during the Oct. 11 regular season matchup. Meanwhile, UC San Diego (2-8-7) – which entered the final matchday of the year with just one victory on the season – upended previous league leader Cal State Fullerton, 1-0, to sneak into the Big West Championship. Cal Poly enters Wednesday’s matchup second among Big West programs with 28 goals scored while UC San Diego has managed 10.
GOING TO THE SPOT: Should any Big West Championship game be drawn after 90 minutes, two 10-minute, golden goal periods will be employed. Still drawn after that, penalties will be used to determine the advancing side. Cal Poly has been involved in just two penalty shootouts in Division I history, eliminated at UC Santa Barbara in the 2008 semifinals, 4-3, after the match finished 2-2 and last fall, dropped out by UC Davis in the semifinals, 5-4, following a 1-1 draw.
CAL POLY VERSUS UC SAN DIEGO: The Mustangs and Tritons have alternated victories and defeats – with each side prevailing at home – since UC San Diego joined the Big West ahead of the 2021 season with Cal Poly holding a 3-2 series edge. Cal Poly’s 4-0 win on Oct. 11 – in which the Mustangs kept UC San Diego without a shot on goal – was fueled with strikes from Jack Civitts, Nico Baltazar, Tanner Casey and a Tritons own goal.
The postseason awaits! Cal Poly hosts UC San Diego in the Big West Championship first round Wednesday, Nov. 5. Winner heads to UC Irvine for the Saturday, Nov. 8 semifinal round.#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/mj6hSH3ptS
— Cal Poly Men’s Soccer (@CPMensSoccer) November 3, 2025
CAL POLY AT THE BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP: The Mustangs have qualified for 11 of the 16 Big West Championships since the competition was revived in 2008, but have progressed beyond their opening match just once. That occasion occurred in 2015, when the Mustangs defeated UC Irvine in the opening round (1-0) before being eliminated at Cal State Fullerton (3-1) in the semifinals (Cal Poly was an at-large selection for that year’s NCAA Tournament). Previously, in a four-team Big West Championship format, Cal Poly has been eliminated at UC Santa Barbara (2008, 2010), at home by UC Irvine (2009) and at CSUN (2012-13). In the current six-team format, Cal Poly has been eliminated in the opening round at home by UC Davis (2024), Cal State Fullerton (2019) and UC Riverside (2021) and at UC Davis (2023). Since 2008, Cal Poly is 1-8-2 at the Big West Championship.
TOTAL FOOTBALL: After scoring 19 times in 19 matches last fall, Cal Poly has found the back of the opposition net 28 times in 2025 to rank 43rd among 210 NCAA Division I programs. Fourteen different Mustangs have scored through the initial 18 games with senior midfielder Bakuena Ramakatsa, junior forward Jack Civitts, sophomore forward Finn Linas, sophomore defender Charlie Hogan and freshman defender Tanner Casey producing their first goals as Mustangs. With freshman defender Michael Vick ranked second in the Big West and 79th among NCAA Division I players with five assists and Civitts on four assists, 11 separate Mustangs have registered at least one assist this year.
DEFENSE KNUCKLS DOWN: Allowing six goals during the opening four matches, Cal Poly has conceded just eight times in the last 14 games. Eight of the program’s nine shutouts this fall have occurred since a home draw against No. 20 San Francisco (Sept. 11). The Mustangs enter the Big West Championship ranked second among conference programs in fewest goals conceded (14) and few conference goals allowed (six).
On to the Big West Championship!#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/mIgH7V7wPU
— Cal Poly Men’s Soccer (@CPMensSoccer) November 2, 2025
MCCUNE IN FRAME: Without a goal allowed in his previous 346 minutes and only 12 conceded from open play in 1,608 minutes this season, senior Nicky McCune – the Sept. 9 and Oct. 27 Big West Defensive Player of the Week honoree – ranks first among Big West goalkeepers with eight shutouts and 1,608 minutes played and third with a 0.78 goals against average and .785 save percentage. McCune has twice recorded a season best five saves at California Baptist (Aug. 30) and Air Force (Sept. 5). A starter in 38 of 41 collegiate outings, McCune ranks first in program history with a 0.86 career goals against average and fourth with 16 career shutouts and a .779 save percentage.
SEAN MCGOAL: Sophomore forward Quinn Mahoney set the scoring pace for Cal Poly with four goals in his opening seven outings before freshman defender Tanner Caser equalized on Oct. 11. With both Mustangs, however, out the remainder of the fall through injury, junior forward Sean McTague has the opportunity to secure Cal Poly’s golden boot after scoring in victories against Utah Tech (Sept. 18), at San Diego State (Sept. 21), UC Davis (Oct. 1) and CSUN (Oct. 26). A 2022 Big West All-Freshman Team selection and 2025 All-Big West second team honoree, McTague ranks sixth among conference goalscorers.
MCCUNE, OWENS NAMED TO HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST: For the first time in Cal Poly history, multiple Mustangs were named to a Hermann Trophy Watch List as senior goalkeeper Nicky McCune and junior defender Parker Owens earned Aug. 21 candidacy for collegiate national player of the year recognition. Among the 29 standouts named, Cal Poly joined Cornell as the only programs – among more than 200 Division I squads – with two candidates. A total of 15 players will be named 2025 Hermann Trophy semifinalists on Dec. 9 at the conclusion of NCAA Division I All-America voting. From that list, three players will be voted as finalists with the 2025 recipient announced Jan. 9, 2026, at the historic Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
ETC.: Cal Poly’s 8-0 home victory against Utah Tech (Sept. 18) established new Division I program records for total goals, margin of victory and individual assists (seven) … junior forward Jack Civitts was named Sept. 22 Big West Offensive Player of the Week after scoring against Utah Tech and producing Cal Poly’s first three-assist game in 17 seasons … Cal Poly saw a program record 13-match home unbeaten run at Mustang Memorial Field snapped with a 2-0 loss to Cal State Fullerton (Oct. 8) … the 9,543-fan attendance figure for Cal Poly’s Oct. 18 home matchup versus Blue-Green rivalry UC Santa Barbara marked the second largest figure in the nation this season.
