Cal Poly Travels to Fresno State on Thursday

Thursday, August 21

Fresno, CA / Bulldog Soccer Stadium

7 P.M.

Fresno State

Team Celebration Bailey Bracha Goal, BYU, 081825

Cal Poly Travels to Fresno State on Thursday

8/20/2025 6:45:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Cal Poly women’s soccer team hits the road on Thursday to battle Fresno State at 7 p.m. at Bulldog Soccer Stadium.

The match will be streamed live on Mountain West Network. The Mustangs (0-0-2) are fresh off an impressive performance in their home opener on Monday, securing a 2-2 draw against BYU, who is ranked No. 19 nationally in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll.

Following Thursday’s match, Cal Poly returns to Mustang Memorial Field Presented by Dignity Health French Hospital at Alex G. Spanos Stadium on Sunday to host Pacific at 1 p.m. Through a special Back to School Ticket Pack, fans can get admission to the match along with a Cal Poly branded School Kit for just $12. It’s also Sunday Funday so all kids 13 and under can get into the match for free.

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Thursday's match will be broadcast live on Mountain West Network. You can find links to watch the match and follow 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.

Scouting Report: Fresno State

Thursday, 7 p.m. at Bulldog Soccer Stadium
The Mustangs and Bulldogs are set to face off for the third straight year.
Last year, Fresno State earned a 1-0 win in San Luis Obispo.
Cal Poly leads the all-time series 10-6-1.
The Bulldogs (0-0-1) opened their season last Thursday, Aug. 14, with a 1-1 draw at UC Davis. Junior Alexis Campbell scored the equalizing goal in the 84th minute.
Fresno State returns 21 players from last year’s team that posted a 7-9-3 overall record.

Last Time on the Pitch

Cal Poly went toe-to-toe with national powerhouse BYU during its home opener at Spanos on Monday.
Junior Annika Smith scored her first goal of the season and 10th of her career just 4:16 into the match. Senior Jessie Halladay, the season’s first Big West Offensive Player of the Week, earned her eighth career assist on the tally.
Redshirt sophomore Bailey Bracha scored the equalizing goal in the 79th minute off a cross from sophomore Lauren Collier, her first collegiate assist and point.
It was Bracha’s second career goal and first since Oct. 15, 2023. The Clovis, Calif. native missed all of last season recovering from a torn ACL she suffered in the summer of 2024. Monday’s match was her first at home since Oct. 29, 2023.
The reported attendance for the Mustangs’ home opener was 1,927, Cal Poly’s third highest in a home opener ever and currently the eighth-highest attended match in the nation so far this season.
Seniors Camryn Penn and Brennan Cole, and Collier were the only field players to play all 90 minutes in the match.
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Szarlacki made her second straight start in net, securing four saves.
Freshman Kammy MacLennan made her first collegiate appearance in the match.

Mustang Debuts

Through two matches, eight players have made their first appearance in a Cal Poly uniform. Freshmen Addie Crosno, Farra Franklin, Kammy MacLennan and Sam Walker have all made their collegiate debuts, while transfers Ruby Casey, Madelyn Dougherty, Ava Mirelez and Alyssa Szarlacki 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 set to lead the Mustang attack this season.
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 11 goals and eight assists across 37 appearances and 13 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 10 goals and three assists during her Mustang career across 41 appearances and 39 starts.

Leading the Stampede

Seniors Jessie Halladay and Camryn Penn, and redshirt junior Sophia Minnite will serve as the team’s three captains this season.
The experienced trio has combined for 137 appearances and 91 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.

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