Mustangs Host Roadrunners Thursday Eying 3rd Straight Win

Thursday, October 2

San Luis Obispo, CA

7 P.M.

Cal State Bakersfield

Tickets

Brennan Cole, Shannon Porubski, Seattle, 091425

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

Mustangs Host Roadrunners Thursday Eying 3rd Straight Win

9/30/2025 7:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Fresh off back-to-back Big West victories and shutouts, the Cal Poly women’s soccer team returns home this Thursday to host Cal State Bakersfield at 7 p.m. The match is part of the program’s Alumni Weekend festivities.

The Mustangs are unbeaten at home this season (1-0-4) and are looking to stay that way on Thursday night. Students who attend the match will receive a raffle ticket when they enter that can be redeemed for a ticket to the historic Cal Poly-UCSB men’s soccer Blue-Green Rivalry match on Oct. 18 at Mustang Memorial Field Presented by Dignity Health French Hospital. Students who remain at the match until the 60th minute will become the first to receive student tickets to the greatest rivalry match in all of collegiate soccer. As always, student admission is free for all Cal Poly Athletics home events. Tickets to Thursday’s match can be purchased HERE.

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 Max Kelton and Jonathan Sze 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. Follow Cal Poly women's soccer on Instagram (@calpolysoccer) and X/Twitter (@CPWomensSoccer) for live updates throughout the match.

Scouting Report: Cal State Bakersfield

Thursday, 7 p.m. at Mustang Memorial Field Presented by Dignity Health French Hospital
The Mustangs are 11-3-0 all-time against the Roadrunners and suffered a 2-0 setback at Cal State Bakersfield last season.
Two of CSUB’s three all-time victories over Cal Poly have come in the last three seasons as the Roadrunners snapped a seven-match losing streak to the Mustangs in 2022 with a 3-1 win in Bakersfield.
The Roadrunners are 4-5-1 overall this season and 1-1-0 in Big West play, defeating UC San Diego 1-0 in La Jolla on Sept. 18 and falling to UC Irvine 1-0 in their conference home opener this past Sunday.
In the loss to the Anteaters, CSUB saw a five-match unbeaten streak (4-0-1) come to an end.
Whitney Pitalo is in her first season as head coach, taking over the program this spring after Bernardo Silva left after two seasons at Cal State Bakersfield to take over as head coach for the Mustangs.
Last year under Silva’s direction, CSUB women’s soccer became the first team in the school’s history to reach a Big West Championship final since the institution joined the conference. The Roadrunners came up short in the conference championship match, falling to UC Santa Barbara in a nine-round penalty shootout, 8-7.
Senior goalkeeper Kamy Anaya has started in net in every match this season, recording 40 saves, a 0.90 goals against average and a .816 save percentage while allowing just nine goals.

An Early Look at the Big West Table

It’s still very early, but through three Big West matches Cal Poly is currently tied with UC Irvine for second place in the conference standings with 6 points (2-1-0 record). CSUN is in first place with 7 points (2-0-1 record), while Cal State Bakersfield sits in sixth place with 3 points.

A Week to Remember

Last week, Cal Poly (4-1-7 overall) earned a 2-0 triumph at home over UC San Diego before securing a hard-fought 1-0 road win against UC Davis on Sunday to pick up 6 points in the conference table.
Junior forward Annika Smith was named the Big West Offensive Player of the Week, contributing directly to all three of the Mustangs' goals across the two victories. Smith scored two goals and added an assist, netting the game-winner in both matches. Against UCSD, she tallied a goal and an assist, scoring the decisive goal in the 53rd minute. She then secured the 1-0 win at UC Davis with a goal in the 67th minute. The Scottsdale, Arizona native now has five goals, tied for second-most in the conference, and 12 points, tied for third in the Big West.
Redshirt freshman Shannon Porubski earned Big West Freshman of the Week honors for the second time this season after posting two shutouts. Porubski has recorded four clean sheets this year, holds a 4-1-2 record in net, and boasts a .767 save percentage with a 1.00 goals against average.

Still Unbeaten at Spanos

Cal Poly is still unbeaten at home this season (1-0-4) through five matches, its longest home unbeaten streak since a six-match stretch during the 2022 season (4-0-2).

The Facts

Senior forward Jessie Halladay currently leads the Big West in goals (six), shots (44) and points (14) this season.
Graduate student midfielder Madelyn Dougherty has been just as important to the Mustangs success this season, recording three goals and six assists, tied for the most in the conference.
With 67 career starts, senior outside back Camryn Penn is currently tied for 13th all-time in Cal Poly history.
Penn and junior Annika Smith have started in 21 consecutive matches for the Mustangs.
Senior defender Brennan Cole leads the Mustangs in minutes played this season (1,039). She has played every minute in nine of 12 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 15 goals and nine assists across 45 appearances and 21 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 14 goals and five assists during her Mustang career across 51 appearances and 49 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 165 appearances and 118 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.

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