2-1-7, 0-1-0
UC Santa Barbara
8-1-1, 1-0-0
Cal Poly Falls Short in Big West Opener
9/18/2025 11:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
GOLETA, Calif. — The Cal Poly women’s soccer team fell short in its Big West opener at UC Santa Barbara on Thursday night, losing 3-1 at Harder Stadium.
The defeat ended the Mustangs’ (2-1-7, 0-1-0 Big West) unbeaten streak to open the season at nine matches.
“We had plenty of chances to capitalize on and we didn’t, and that’s the story of the game,” head coach Bernardo Silva said after the match, “… when we have the momentum of the game we need to be more lethal and clinical in front of the goal and today we just weren’t, so credit to Santa Barbara they deserved to win the game.”
The Gauchos (8-1-1, 1-0-0 Big West) struck first on an own goal by the Mustangs in the 38th minute just moments after junior Annika Smith sent a blast just wide of the left post.
UCSB carried that 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, the Mustangs found their footing and became the aggressors, and in the 73rd minute that persistence paid off. Senior Emily Lieber played a ball behind a UCSB defender and to freshman Sam Walker toward the endline and outside the right side of the penalty box on a give-and-go. From there, Walker one-touched a cross toward the back post and graduate student Madelyn Dougherty rose up and headed the ball to the back of the net to level the match at 1-1.
It was Dougherty’s third goal of the season and the sixth of her collegiate career. For Walker, the assist was her first collegiate point while Lieber registered her first point of the season and the 11th assist of her career, tied for the 13th-most in Cal Poly history.
But less than a minute after Cal Poly equalized, UCSB buried a rebound off a shot from outside the box to take a 2-1 lead.
The Mustangs fought to find another equalizer down the stretch, but were unable to as the Gauchos sent a shot into a wide open with seven seconds left to seal the win.
“I thought it was a tale of two halves,” Silva said. “I thought the first half Santa Barbara was all over us and in the second half I thought we made some adjustments, and I thought our team looked really good.”
Senior Jessie Halladay led the team in shots with four. Senior Brennan Cole, redshirt junior Sophia Minnite and Walker played all 90 minutes in the match.
“We are going to go back home and get better,” Silva said. “We lost one battle in the Big West, but the war is in front of us and we’re going to be in it for the fight.”
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 the match HERE.
Team Stats
Chayse Yu (1)
GOAL by UCSB Yu, Chayse.
37:53
Madelyn Dougherty (3)
Assisted By: Sam Walker , Emily Lieber
GOAL by CP Dougherty, Madelyn Assist by Walker, Sam and Lieber, Emily.
72:54
Haley Phillips (2)
Assisted By: Natalie Sheffey
GOAL by UCSB Phillips, Haley Assist by Sheffey, Natalie.
73:16
Olivia Howard (5)
GOAL by UCSB Howard, Olivia.
89:53
