Defending Big West Champions Release 2025 Schedule
7/2/2025 3:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Featuring four matchups against programs that reached last year’s NCAA Tournament – including a Sept. 8 visit to 2024 College Cup semifinalist Denver – and eight home contests at Mustang Memorial Field, the defending Big West regular season champion Cal Poly men’s soccer program unveiled its 17-game schedule Wednesday afternoon.
With the Mustangs returning all five All-Big West selections from last fall along with nine starters, 18 letterwinners and 79 percent of its 2024 goal production, Cal Poly’s 2025 schedule also features a Saturday, Oct. 18 home showdown against rival UC Santa Barbara.
Non-Conference (August-September)
Starting preseason training camp on Tuesday, Aug. 5, Cal Poly tunes up for the regular season with exhibition matches at Pacific (4-8-4 last season) on Sunday, Aug. 10 and at Stanford (9-5-8) on Saturday, Aug. 16. Stanford finished No. 13 in the final United Soccer Coaches Poll last season after reaching the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Mustangs open the 2025 regular season with a four-match road trip that begins Thursday, Aug. 21 at 2024 WAC Tournament runner-up San Jose State (6-8-7). The road trip continues Saturday, Aug. 30 at California Baptist (6-8-5) and Friday, Sept. 5 at Air Force (1-15-1) before concluding at defending Summit League champion Denver (15-3-5) on Monday, Sept. 8. Denver ousted Gardner-Webb, Indiana and UMass to reach last season’s NCAA Tournament College Cup before being eliminated on penalties in the national semifinals by eventual champion Vermont.
Cal Poly opens its eight-match home schedule Thursday, Sept. 11 against San Francisco (7-6-4) before hosting Saint Mary’s (2-9-6) on Sunday, Sept. 14 and Utah Tech (4-10-4) on Thursday, Sept. 18.
Action continues at defending WAC regular season champion San Diego State (10-5-3) on Sunday, Sept. 21 before Cal Poly renews the Blue-Green rivalry with a Saturday, Sept. 27 visit to UC Santa Barbara.
The best-attended sporting events annually in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties, the Cal Poly-UC Santa Barbara series has drawn 32 of the top 73 regular season crowd figures in NCAA history with all matches occurring during the previous 17 seasons. The matchup at Mustang Memorial Field at Spanos Stadium has sold out all 11,075 seats in 11 of the last 16 seasons. The 25 combined matches between Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara during the last 13 years comprise 25 of the 33 highest attended collegiate soccer games in the United States – including NCAA Tournament and College Cup matches. Since the start of the 2007 season, 344,921 total spectators and an average of 9,581 fans per match have witnessed Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara clash on 36 occasions.
We're live with our 2025 schedule! Four matchups against 2024 NCAA Tournament qualifiers and eight home games at Mustang Memorial Field ... including a Saturday, Oct. 18 showdown with rival UC Santa Barbara.#RideHigh
— Cal Poly Men’s Soccer (@CPMensSoccer) July 3, 2025
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Twenty-four of the last 33 matches between Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara have been decided by one goal or drawn. Seven of Cal Poly’s nine victories in the last 35 attempts against UC Santa Barbara have been a one-goal triumph. Just four times since 2007 has one side scored as many as three goals against the other (Cal Poly’s 4-1 home victory versus the Gauchos to close 2017 marked the first time since Nov. 9, 2001 that one team had slipped four goals past the other). The Mustangs are undefeated at home against the Gauchos in 10 of the last 15 years while UC Santa Barbara has lost exactly once at home to Cal Poly in the last 26 matchups at Harder Stadium.
Big West (October-November)
Cal Poly’s 24th year of Big West action begins where and against the previous season ended – at home versus UC Davis (10-6-6) on Wednesday, Oct. 1. It was the Aggies who knocked Cal Poly out of last year’s Big West Championship in the semifinals on penalties before being eliminated itself in the NCAA Tournament first round by San Diego.
Following a Saturday, Oct. 4 visit to UC Irvine (8-8-3), Cal Poly plays three of its ensuing four Big West matches at home, hosting Cal State Fullerton (7-6-7) on Wednesday, Oct. 8 and UC San Diego (4-9-5) on Saturday, Oct. 11. Following a Wednesday, Oct. 15 visit to Sacramento State, Cal Poly welcomes UC Santa Barbara for a Saturday, Oct. 18 showdown.
The Mustangs complete the regular season at UC Riverside (5-6-5) on Wednesday, Oct. 22 and host CSUN (2-8-7) for a Sunday, Oct. 26 senior day matchup before visiting Cal State Bakersfield (7-6-4) in the Saturday, Nov. 1 finale.
Postseason
The top two programs in the 10-team Big West table receive byes for the Wednesday, Nov. 5 opening round of the conference tournament before hosting semifinal matchups on Saturday, Nov. 8. The Friday, Nov. 14 Big West Championship final will be played at the highest remaining seed.
First round action for the 2025 NCAA Championship is Thursday, Nov. 20 with second and third round play scheduled for, respectively, Sunday, Nov. 23 and Sunday, Nov. 30. The four quarterfinal matchups will take place on Dec. 6 or 7. The 2024 College Cup will be hosted at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., Dec. 12-15.
