9-2-9, 6-2-2
No. 3 Seed Cal State Fullerton
14-3-3, 6-2-2
Cal Poly Secures Spot in Big West Championship Match, Plays UCSB Sunday
11/6/2025 11:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — The Cal Poly women’s soccer team punched its ticket to its third Big West Championship match in five seasons with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over No. 3 seed Cal State Fullerton in the Big West Championship semifinals on Thursday night at Matador Soccer Field.
A 75th-minute penalty kick strike from senior Jessie Halladay propelled the second-seeded Mustangs (9-2-9) past the Titans (14-3-3) and into their 10th Big West Championship match all-time. Cal Poly will face No. 5 seed and Blue-Green rival UC Santa Barbara — who upended top seed CSUN in penalties in the other semifinal — in the Big West title match at 1 p.m. Sunday at CSUN’s Matador Soccer Field.
“I’m super proud of our team,” head coach Bernardo Silva said after the match. “I thought our team handled the moment tremendously well. I’m just really proud of our resilience and ability to find a way. It’s survive and advance mode right now in postseason, and it totally felt like a game like that.”
After a tightly-contested first half that saw neither team find the back of the net, it became very apparent that the first side to bury a goal would be victorious. With just over 15 minutes left in the match, Big West Defensive Player of the Year Brennan Cole sent a cross into the box from about 30 yards into that box that redshirt sophomore defender Siena Urzua rose up and steered just wide of the right post. However, on the play, Halladay was taken down by a Cal State Fullerton defender in the box and after video review the Mustangs were awarded a penalty kick.
With everything on the line, Halladay stepped up and fired up a shot to the bottom left corner of the net to give Cal Poly a 1-0 advantage — a lead they would never relinquish.
“Pressure is definitely a privilege,” Halladay said about her game-winning goal, “and I think it comes down to the confidence we have in our preparation … and I knew the team had my back going into that.”
With the strike, Halladay took over the Big West lead in both goals (eight) and points (20) this season.
With a spot in the Big West Championship within sight, the Mustangs buckled down defensively and shut down the Cal State Fullerton attack in the final minutes to secure their 10th Big West semifinal victory all-time.
In net, redshirt freshman goalkeeper Shannon Porubski stepped up and delivered another phenomenal performance, securing her eighth clean sheet of the season with three saves.
The Mustangs will be seeking their fourth Big West tournament title all-time and first since 2004 when they take on the defending conference tournament champion Gauchos on Sunday live on ESPN+.
“We’ve been working to get to this moment since January,” Silva said. “You set out to work on your habits and focus on the process, and these girls have absolutely ultra committed to the process, they’ve committed to each other and they’ve learned how to win together … We’ll be ready for Sunday to compete for a title.”
Team Stats
Jessie Halladay (7)
CPM Jessie Halladay PENALTY KICK GOAL.
74:32
