Cal Poly Takes on Rival UCSB in Big West Championship Final Sunday

Sunday, November 9

Northridge, CA / Matador Soccer Field

1 P.M.

No. 5 Seed UC Santa Barbara

Buy Tickets

Cal Poly Women's Soccer Semifinal Win, 110625, Cal State Fullerton

Cal Poly Takes on Rival UCSB in Big West Championship Final Sunday

11/8/2025 9:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

WATCH

LIVE STATS

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — A Big West tournament title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament will be on the line when Cal Poly women’s soccer battles Blue-Green rival UC Santa Barbara in the Big West Championship at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

The second-seeded Mustangs (9-2-9) will be seeking their first Big West tournament title in 21 years when they take the pitch against the fifth-seeded Gauchos (13-4-5) at CSUN’s Matador Soccer Field. Cal Poly is also eyeing its sixth appearance in the NCAA Division I Tournament all-time and first since 2004. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Follow Cal Poly Women’s Soccer!

Sunday’s Big West Championship will be streamed live on ESPN+. 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.

Championship History

Cal Poly is making its 10th Big West Championship appearance all-time, third in the last five seasons and first since coming up short to UC Irvine 1-0 in the 2023 final held at Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Stadium.
The Mustangs are 3-4-2 all-time in the Big West Championship, winning it all in 1996, 2003 and 2004, and falling short in penalties in both 2007 and 2009.
This is the fourth time Cal Poly and UCSB have squared off in the Big West Championship final, with the Mustangs emerging victorious by a 2-0 scoreline in both 2003 and 2004 and falling to the Gauchos in a penalty shootout in 2009, 5-4.
The Mustangs have never won a penalty shootout in the 34-year history of the program.
The Mustangs have qualified for 15 of the 24 Big West tournaments.

How They Got Here

Cal Poly took down No. 3 seed Cal State Fullerton 1-0 in the Big West semifinals on Thursday to secure their 10th Big West semifinal victory all-time. A penalty kick goal from senior forward Jessie Halladay in the 75th minute was the difference for the Mustangs.
After playing to a 1-1 draw with No. 1 seed CSUN after regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods, UCSB advanced to the Big West Championship final with a 3-2 penalty shootout victory over the Matadors in the Big West semifinals on Thursday.

Scouting Report: UC Santa Barbara

As the fifth seed, the Gauchos have upended a pair of conference foes on the road (UC Irvine, CSUN) to earn a spot in their seventh Big West Championship final.
Last year, UCSB won its first Big West Championship in 15 years in penalties over Cal State Bakersfield 8-7, a team coached by current Cal Poly head coach Bernardo Silva.
In their regular season matchup in Santa Barbara on Sept. 18, the Gauchos got the better of the Mustangs, defeating Cal Poly 3-1. Madelyn Dougherty leveled the match in the 73rd minute before UCSB responded with two goals to seal the win.
Cal Poly leads the all-time series with the Gauchos 18-10-8, but UCSB has won the last two matchups.
The Gauchos received a program-record nine All-Big West selections, led by junior forward Olivia Howard and senior defender Sofie Rodriguez. Howard has scored a team-high six goals this season, including four game winners.
All-Big West Honorable Mention selection Maddie Buckley has started in 18 of the Gauchos’ 22 matches this season, recording a 10-3-5, eight shutouts, 65 saves, a 0.66 goals against average and a .844 save percentage.

Overtime Rules

In postseason play and during the Big West Championship, if a game is tied after 90 minutes of regulation, two 10-minute, golden goal overtime periods will be played, meaning if either team scores during one of the overtime periods the match is immediately over at that point. If the match is still tied after the two overtime periods, penalties will determine a winner. Cal Poly has been involved in five penalty shootouts all-time — the last being in the 2014 Big West semifinals against Long Beach State — and come up short in each one of them by one penalty each time.

Riding High

Cal Poly carries a six-match unbeaten streak (5-0-1) into Sunday’s Big West Championship.
A 1-1 draw at home to CSUN in its regular season finale on Oct. 26 allowed Cal Poly to finish the season unbeaten at home (3-0-6) for just the fifth time in program history and the first time in 21 years.
The Mustangs went unbeaten in nonconference play (2-0-7) for the first time in program history this fall, starting the season on a nine-match unbeaten streak — tied for the longest unbeaten streak to open a season in program history and the team’s longest overall since starting the 2005 season 6-0-3.
Cal Poly’s nine draws this season are currently tied with Bowling Green for the second most in Division 1 this season. The Division I single-season record is 10, which Stephen F. Austin has already matched this fall (7-3-10).

Six Mustangs Earn All-Big West Honors

Six Mustangs secured All-Big West honors when the conference office announced end-of-season awards this past Saturday, marking the fifth straight season that at least five Mustangs have received All-Big West praise.
Senior defender Brennan Cole was crowned the Big West Defensive Player of the Year and junior Annika Smith was named the Big West Offensive Player of the Year, marking the first time since 2022 that Cal Poly has had multiple major award winners.
The Mustangs earned three All-Big West First Team honorees in Cole, Smith and graduate student midfielder Madelyn Dougherty. Senior forward Jessie Halladay grabbed an All-Big West Second Team selection, senior defender Camryn Penn garnered All-Big West Honorable Mention praise and redshirt freshman goalkeeper Shannon Porubski was named to the Big West All-Freshman Team.

The Quick 90

The Mustangs leans heavily on their three offensive stars — graduate student midfielder Madelyn Dougherty, senior Jessie Halladay and junior Annika Smith. The trio has combined to score 20 out of Cal Poly’s 30 total goals this season and dished out 15 assists. Halladay took over the Big West lead in goals (eight) and points (20) this season with her penalty kick strike in the Big West semifinals. Dougherty’s Big West leading eight assists are tied for the fifth most assists in a single season by a Mustang in program history.
Cal Poly’s defense has been just as formidable this season, posting nine shutouts, the program’s most since recording 10 in 2022. All-Big West Freshman Team selection Shannon Porubski has set the stone with eight clean sheets between the pipes, while senior center back Brennan Cole has been the anchor on the back line all season long, making crucial tackles in key moments.

The Facts

Cal Poly is 9-0-5 when they score first in a match this season. They are 0-2-2 when they score second and have played to two scoreless draws this season.
With 45 career points, Halladay currently ranks 14th all-time in Cal Poly history.
With 75 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 29 consecutive matches for the Mustangs.
Penn, Smith, graduate student Madelyn Dougherty and senior Brennan Cole are the only players that have started in all 20 matches this season.
Cole leads the Mustangs in minutes played this season (1,754). She has played every minute in 16 of 20 matches.

Cal Poly Debuts

Through 20 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 17 goals and 11 assists across 53 appearances and 29 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 59 appearances and 57 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 189 appearances and 142 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.

Up Next