Women's Soccer Hosts UCSD Thursday, Travels to Davis Sunday

Thursday, September 25

San Luis Obispo, CA

7 P.M.

UC San Diego

Tickets

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

Women's Soccer Hosts UCSD Thursday, Travels to Davis Sunday

9/24/2025 3:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

UC SAN DIEGO TICKETS

WATCH THURSDAY

LIVE STATS THURSDAY

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Unbeaten at home this season, the Cal Poly women’s soccer team returns to Spanos on Thursday at 7 p.m. to host UC San Diego in its Big West home opener before traveling to UC Davis on Sunday to wrap up the week.

Thursday’s match against the Tritons will serve as the second of three AYSO Appreciation Days the program is hosting the season. You can purchase tickets to the pivotal Big West showdown HERE. Sunday’s road contest at UC Davis will kick-off at 1 p.m. with live coverage available on ESPN+.

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Follow Cal Poly Women's Soccer!

If you can’t make it to Thursday’s match in-person, you can watch it live on ESPN+ with Jonathan Sze and Matthew Muren on the call. You can find links to watch the match and follow live stats within this story and on the women’s soccer schedule page. Sunday’s road match will also be televised on ESPN+. Follow Cal Poly women's soccer on Instagram (@calpolysoccer) and X/Twitter (@CPWomensSoccer) for live updates throughout both matches.

Scouting Report: UC San Diego

Thursday, 7 p.m. at Mustang Memorial Field Presented by Dignity Health French Hospital
Cal Poly leads the all-time series against the Tritons 2-2-0.
Last year, Cal Poly fell 2-0 at UCSD in its regular season finale and the final match in the illustrious 33-year career of head coach Alex Crozier.
The Mustangs are seeking their first win over the Tritons since 2022, dropping the last two matchups with UCSD.
UC San Diego is 2-4-4 this season and is currently winless in its last four matches.
The Tritons dropped their Big West opener to Cal State Bakersfield 1-0 last Thursday in La Jolla.
UCSD is led by redshirt freshman Ava Tibor, who has scored four of the team’s nine goals this season. She netted a pair of braces in two matches earlier this season to earn Big West Freshman of the Week honors twice.

Scouting Report: UC Davis

Sunday, 1 p.m. at Aggie Soccer Field
Cal Poly is 12-9-2 all-time against the Aggies.
Last year, the Mustangs fell to UC Davis 2-0 in San Luis Obispo in their home finale.
After going 13-5-2 last season, UC Davis currently boasts a 2-4-3 record on the year, securing wins at Pacific and Sacramento State.
The Aggies will host UC Santa Barbara at 6 p.m. Thursday in its Big West opener before hosting the Mustangs on Sunday.
One of the lowest scoring teams in the conference this season, UC Davis has scored eight goals through nine matches this season.
The Aggies are led by 2024 United Soccer Coaches All-West Region First Team selection Genavieve Fontes, who has scored three goals this season.
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Cat Pieper has started in all nine matches this season, recording three shutouts, a 0.86 goals against average and a .824 save percentage. She is 1-2-2 in net and has allowed just six goals.

Last Time on the Pitch

The Mustangs (2-1-7, 0-1-0 Big West) are looking to get back on track this week after suffering their first loss of the season last Thursday, falling 3-1 at UC Santa Barbara in their Big West opener.
In last Thursday's loss at UC Santa Barbara, graduate student midfielder Madelyn Dougherty headed home her third goal of the season in the 73rd minute. Freshman defender Sam Walker recorded her first collegiate point on the goal, earning the primary assist, while senior forward Emily Lieber registered her 11th career assist on the tally, tied for the 13th-most in Cal Poly history.
Senior forward Jessie Halladay currently leads the Big West in points (12), shots (36) and goals per match, recording five goals and two assists this season. Dougherty ranks second in the conference in assists with five and is tied for second in the Big West in total points (11).

Historic Unbeaten Streak

The defeat to UCSB last Thursday snapped Cal Poly's historic nine-match unbeaten streak, tied for the longest unbeaten streak to open a season in program history and the team’s longest unbeaten run overall since starting the 2005 season 6-0-3.
The Mustangs are still unbeaten at home this season (0-0-4), their longest home unbeaten streak since posting a 4-0-2 record during a six-game stretch in the 2022 season, when they claimed the Big West regular season title outright.

Some Facts

With 65 career starts, senior outside back Camryn Penn is currently tied for 16th all-time in Cal Poly history.
Penn, senior midfielder Sophia Minnite and junior Annika Smith have all started in 19 consecutive matches for the Mustangs.
Senior defender Brennan Cole leads the Mustangs in minutes played this season (859). She has played every minute in seven of 10 matches.

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 the two centerpieces to Cal Poly’s attach.
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 43 appearances and 19 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 49 appearances and 47 starts.

Leading the Stampede

Seniors Jessie Halladay and Camryn Penn, and redshirt junior Sophia Minnite are the team’s three captains this season.
The experienced trio has combined for 159 appearances and 113 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!

Following this week’s action, Cal Poly returns to Spanos next Thursday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. to host Cal State Bakersfield for Alumni Weekend. You can purchase tickets to the match HERE.

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