3-3-3, 0-0-0
UC Santa Barbara
2-4-3, 0-0-0
Saturday Blue-Green Rivalry Ends in Scoreless Draw
9/27/2025 8:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
SANTA BARBARA – Senior goalkeeper Nicky McCune chalked up four saves for his fourth shutout of 2025 and Cal Poly placed six of its nine shot attempts on target but, in front of 7,447 fans – the largest crowd figure for an NCAA men’s soccer match this season – the program’s Saturday Blue-Green rivalry matchup with UC Santa Barbara finished in a scoreless draw at Harder Stadium.
With the draw, Cal Poly extended its unbeaten run to five successive matches heading into the program’s Wednesday, Oct. 1 Big West opener against UC Davis. That matchup will be televised nationally on ESPNU with a 7 p.m. kickoff time.
After defeating UC Santa Barbara at home last season before drawing away, Cal Poly’s current three-match unbeaten run against the rival Gauchos is the program’s lengthiest since a four-game streak between 2016-18.
With Saturday’s match scheduled as a non-conference affair, the countable game in the Big West standings between Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara this season occurs on Saturday, Oct. 18 in San Luis Obispo.
#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/gGGlIvqVhI
— Cal Poly Men’s Soccer (@CPMensSoccer) September 28, 2025
We were really excited about how we performed tonight. It’s never easy coming into a tough road environment and playing in front of more than 7,000 fans, but I felt like our guys really rose to the task. Offensively, we were able to create a lot of good chances. Defensively, we had such a good team effort in keeping a clean sheet for the third time in a row against UC Santa Barbara. We’re now looking forward to opening Big West play on national television against UC Davis at Spanos Stadium Wednesday night.- Oige Kennedy, Cal Poly Head Coach
Cal Poly placed its initial three attempts on target Saturday – including an 18th-minute, goal-bound opportunity from senior midfielder Bakuena Ramakatsa that was backheeled off the line by UC Santa Barbara forward Steinar Bjornsson.
Mustang sophomore forward Finn Linas saw a 28th-minute effort bounce off the crossbar before junior forward Sean McTague was turned away by Gauchos goalkeeper Owen Beninga in the 42nd.
Into the second half, sophomore midfielder Rylan Firouznam was turned away in the 61st before sophomore forward Quinn Mahoney was stopped three minutes later.
McCune, meanwhile, chalked up saves in the 49th, 51st, 84th and 90th minutes to preserve the clean sheet.
