Women's Soccer Opens Big West Play at Rival UCSB

Thursday, September 18

Santa Barbara, CA / Harder Stadium

7 P.M.

UC Santa Barbara

Brennan Cole goal celebration, Seattle, 091425

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

Women's Soccer Opens Big West Play at Rival UCSB

9/17/2025 9:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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LIVE STATS

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Cal Poly women’s soccer team kicks off Big West play on Thursday night with a Blue-Green showdown at rival UC Santa Barbara.

Action starts at 7 p.m. from Harder Stadium and the match can be seen live on ESPN+. The Mustangs (2-0-7) capped off their first unbeaten nonconference season in program history on Sunday and will carry plenty of momentum into their matchup with the defending Big West champion Gauchos (7-1-1), who enter Thursday on a six-match winning streak.

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You can watch Thursday’s Big West opener live on ESPN+. 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: UC Santa Barbara

Thursday, 7 p.m. at Harder Stadium
Last year, Cal Poly saw a seven-match unbeaten streak and a three-match winning streak against the Gauchos come to an end as UCSB earned a narrow 1-0 win over the Mustangs in San Luis Obispo.
The Mustangs lead the all-time series 18-9-8.
Cal Poly last traveled to UCSB on Sept. 14, 2023, defeating the Gauchos by a decisive 3-1 scoreline in the Big West opener that season.
Last year, UCSB took down Cal State Bakersfield 8-7 in penalties to secure its first Big West Championship in 15 years and advance to the NCAA Tournament. Current Cal Poly head coach Bernardo Silva was the head coach of the Roadrunners in that match and will be looking for some revenge on Thursday night in Santa Barbara.
On top of winning six straight, UCSB carries an eight-match unbeaten streak into Thursday’s contest and is 7-1-1 this season. The Gauchos lone loss came in their season opener against LMU, 2-1.
The Gauchos are led by junior forwards Hayden Halscheid (four goals, one assist) and Olivia Howard (four goals), who are responsible for half of the team’s 16 goals this season.
UCSB is tied with Cal Poly for the most goals scored by a team in the Big West this season (16).

Last Time on the Pitch

Cal Poly enters conference play fresh off securing a dramatic 3-3 draw against Seattle on Sunday night at home to finish unbeaten in nonconference play for the first time in program history.
Cal Poly scored two goals in the final 14 minutes of play to rally from 3-1 down.
With 10 seconds remaining in the match, senior Julia Moore buried the latest equalizing goal in program history to help Cal Poly remain unbeaten on the year (2-0-7).
On a night when the Mustangs honored their nine-member senior class, seniors were responsible for all three goals the team scored as Moore, Jessie Halladay and Brennan Cole all found the back of the net.
In just her seventh match this season, Halladay scored her Big West leading fifth goal of the season in the 76th minute to spark the Mustangs, who led 1-0 at halftime. The Los Gatos, Calif. native also leads the conference in points (12), shots per match (4.57) and points per match (1.71).
Graduate student Madelyn Dougherty played a part in all three goals Sunday night, assisting on Cole and Moore’s goals, and deflecting a pass by a Seattle defender that eventually led to Halladay’s goal. She has five assists this season, which leads the Big West.
17 Mustangs saw the pitch in the match and Halladay, Cole and senior Sophia Minnite were the only field players that never stepped off the pitch.
Redshirt freshman Shannon Porubski made her fourth consecutive start in net for the Mustangs.

Making History One Match at a Time

Cal Poly’s current nine-match unbeaten streak is tied for the longest unbeaten streak to open a season in program history and it’s the team’s longest overall since starting the 2005 season 6-0-3.
With Sunday’s result, Cal Poly now has seven draws this season — a new single-season program record and the most by any team in the country this season.
Cal Poly is one of 18 teams in the nation yet to suffer a loss this season.
The Mustangs are currently No. 10 in the United Soccer Coaches West Region rankings.

Mustang Debuts

Through eight 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 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 14 goals and nine assists across 42 appearances and 18 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 12 goals and four assists during her Mustang career across 48 appearances and 46 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 156 appearances and 110 starts across their Cal Poly careers.
With 64 career starts, Penn currently ranks in the top 20 all-time at Cal Poly in matches started.

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 hosts UC San Diego in its Big West home opener at 7 p.m. next Thursday, Sept. 25. The match will serve as the program’s second of three AYSO Appreciation games this season. You can purchase tickets to match HERE.

UC SAN DIEGO TICKETS

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