Mustangs Begin Three-Match Road Swing at Nevada, UNLV

Thursday, August 28

Reno, NV / Mackay Stadium

7 P.M.

Nevada

Brennan Cole Post Goal Celebration, Pacific, 082425

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

Mustangs Begin Three-Match Road Swing at Nevada, UNLV

8/27/2025 3:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

WATCH THURSDAY

WATCH SUNDAY

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Cal Poly women’s soccer team begins a three-match road swing this week, taking on Nevada on Thursday and UNLV on Sunday. Both matches are available to watch for free.

Thursday’s showdown at the Wolf Pack will be streamed for free on the Mountain West Network with first kick set for 7 p.m. The still unbeaten Mustangs (0-0-4) wrap up their trip to Nevada at 11 a.m. Sunday at UNLV with a livestream available on YouTube.

LIVE STATS THURSDAY

LIVE STATS SUNDAY

SEASON TICKETS

Follow Cal Poly Women's Soccer!

Both road matches this week can be watched for free on different streaming platforms. You can find links to watch both matches 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 both matches.

Scouting Report: Nevada

Thursday, 7 p.m. at Mackay Stadium
The Wolf Pack are 1-1 this season, earning their first victory at Northern Arizona 2-1 on Aug. 17.
Thursday’s match will mark Nevada’s first in 11 days.
Last year, Cal Poly and Nevada squared off for the first time in 12 years with the Mustangs securing a commanding 5-1 victory in San Luis Obispo on Senior Day. It marked the first time since Sept. 23, 2000, that Cal Poly scored five goals in a half.
The Mustangs lead the all-time series 3-0-1.
The last time Cal Poly traveled to Reno was 2012.

Scouting Report: UNLV

Sunday, 11 a.m. at Peter Johann Memorial Field
UNLV (0-2-1) is still looking for its first win of the season, falling at Arizona 5-0 and at UC San Diego 3-2, and drawing at home to Utah Tech 1-1.
The Rebels will host Arizona State at 7 p.m. on Thursday before taking on the Mustangs.
Cal Poly is 1-1 all-time against UNLV.
The last meeting between these two schools was on Sept. 27, 2002, when the Mustangs won 2-0 in San Luis Obispo.
The Mustangs’ lone trip to Las Vegas came in 2001 when the team took part in the FILA Tournament.

Last Time on the Pitch

Cal Poly registered an impressive 27 shots — including 20 in the second half — in an 2-2 home draw against Pacific this past Sunday.
Junior Annika Smith scored her second goal of the season less than six minutes into the match off an assist from redshirt sophomore Bailey Bracha, her second career assist and third point of the season.
With a minute left in the first half, senior Brennan Cole headed home first goal of the season and third of her career off a cross from senior Camryn Penn, her fourth career assist and first point of the season.
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Alyssa Szarlacki made her fourth consecutive start against Pacific. This season, she has recorded one clean sheet, 17 saves, a 1.75 goals against average and a .708 save percentage while facing 58 shots.
Through four matches, Cal Poly has held a one-goal lead six separate times.

Stangs Making History

Currently, Cal Poly is the only team in Division I women’s soccer to start the season with four straight draws. San Diego and UT Martin are both 0-0-3 and have chances to match the Mustangs this week.
Prior to this year, the Mustangs had never recorded four consecutive draws at any point during a season. The four draws are Cal Poly’s most in a season since tying five times in 2018.
The Mustangs’ seven goals so far this season are tied for the most in their first four matches since 2021. Cal Poly leads the Big West in goals scored and shots (73) this season.
The Mustangs are on their longest unbeaten streak to open a season since starting the 2013 season 4-0-0.

Mustang Debuts

Through four matches, nine 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, 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 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 11 goals and three assists during her Mustang career across 43 appearances and 41 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 141 appearances and 95 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!

Cal Poly completes a string of three straight road matches on Thursday, Sept. 4, at San Jose State before returning to Spanos Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 7, to host Cal at 1 p.m. You can purchase tickets to that match HERE.

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