No. 2 UC Irvine
Cal Poly Visits UC Irvine Saturday in Big West Championship Semifinal
11/6/2025 12:57:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Cal Poly Men's Soccer
Upcoming Fixtures
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Winners of four straight for the first time in eight years, the third-seeded Cal Poly men’s soccer team looks to advance to the Big West Championship final for the first time in program history when visiting No. 2 UC Irvine for a Saturday, Nov. 8 semifinal matchup. Kickoff from Anteater Stadium is 6 p.m. for Cal Poly (9-5-5), which reached Saturday’s semifinal by dispatching sixth-seeded UC San Diego in Wednesday’s first round, 2-0. UC Irvine (9-3-6), which shared the Big West regular season title on 17 points alongside Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara, earned a bye to the semifinals after edging the Mustangs on conference goals scored (the third-ranked tiebreaker). Top-seeded UC Santa Barbara (6-4-8) hosts No. 5 UC Davis (4-8-6) in Saturday’s remaining semifinal. Two of the Big West’s top three scoring sides, Cal Poly and UC Irvine have accounted for 56 combined goals. Defensively, Cal Poly takes a 436-minute scoreless streak into Saturday’s matchup.
WINNINGS WAYS: Cal Poly’s current four-game win streak is the program’s lengthiest since prevailing in five straight early during the 2017 season while nine victories this fall marks the highest total since claiming 11 wins in 2015.
GOING TO THE SPOT: Should any Big West Championship game be drawn after 90 minutes, two 10-minute, non-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 IRVINE: The Mustangs drew the regular season matchup away to UC Irvine, 1-1 (Oct. 4), behind a 10th-minute opener from junior midfielder Jackson Miller, while Cal Poly chases just a second victory against the Anteaters during the last 10 years. Cal Poly’s last road win at UC Irvine was a 1-0 decision on Sept. 28, 2011. UC Irvine leads the Division I series, 20-11-10.
Save the date, Mustang fans!#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/GegIVtdtVM
— Cal Poly Men’s Soccer (@CPMensSoccer) November 6, 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 twice. Aside from this season, that previous 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 2-8-2 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 30 times in 2025 to rank 35th among 210 NCAA Division I programs. Fourteen different Mustangs have scored this season 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 Civitts and freshman defender Michael Vick each ranked second in the Big West and 79th among NCAA Division I players with five assists, 11 separate Mustangs have registered at least one assist this year.
Please do the honors for us, Nico Baltazar!#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/HeJPFC7SEX
— Cal Poly Men’s Soccer (@CPMensSoccer) November 6, 2025
DEFENSE KNUCKLS DOWN: Allowing six goals during the opening four matches, Cal Poly has conceded just eight times in the last 15 games. Nine of the program’s 10 shutouts this fall have occurred since a home draw against No. 20 San Francisco (Sept. 11). The Mustangs enter Saturday’s semifinal ranked second among conference programs in fewest goals conceded (14).
MCCUNE IN FRAME: Without a goal allowed in his previous 436 minutes and only 12 conceded from open play in 1,698 minutes this season, senior Nicky McCune – the Sept. 9 and Oct. 27 Big West Defensive Player of the Week honoree – ranks fourth among NCAA Division I players with nine shutouts, 23rd with a 0.74 goals against average and 29th with a .794 save percentage. Also the Big West leader for minutes played (1,694), McCune has twice recorded a season best five saves at California Baptist (Aug. 30) and Air Force (Sept. 5). A starter in 39 of 42 collegiate outings, McCune ranks first in program history with a 0.84 career goals against average and third with 17 shutouts and a .785 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.
