8-7-5, 4-4-3
California Baptist
9-4-5, 4-3-4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cal Poly | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| California Baptist | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
11/4/2026 11:35:00 PM | Women's Soccer
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Junior Isis Salazar-Ortega buried a goal with four seconds remaining in the second overtime period to propel Cal Poly women's soccer to a dramatic 1-0 victory over California Baptist in the Big West Championship First Round on Wednesday night at CBU Soccer Stadium.
“I’m incredibly proud of our team and our performance tonight,” head coach Bernardo Silva said after the match, “… we put a lot of effort, a lot of hard work into today’s performance and I thought we were rewarded at the end.”
With the victory, No. 5 seed Cal Poly (8-7-5) booked a ticket to Orem, Utah, to face No. 1 seed Utah Valley in the Big West Championship Semifinals at 5 p.m. PT Saturday. This is the fifth time in the last six seasons Cal Poly has advanced to the semifinals.
The defending Big West tournament champions showed just how much grit and determination they have in the dying seconds of the 110th minute of play, battling in the box to find the back of the net to avoid a penalty shootout.
With 12 seconds remaining in the second 10-minute, sudden death overtime period, junior midfielder Miah Thomas sent a cross from the right side into the 18-yard box that Salazar-Ortega flicked on with her head. A scramble ensued in front before freshman Kate Nunes settled down the ball and had a shot blocked by a CBU defender. The ball then found its way to the foot of Salazar-Ortega, who one-timed a shot with her right foot into the net to send the Cal Poly bench into a frenzy.
The Mustangs stormed the pitch after the dramatic goal in the 110th minute of play was confirmed following video review. It was the latest golden goal in program history (109:56).
Salazar-Ortega is now responsible for all four goals Cal Poly has scored over its last two matches — including a hat trick in last Saturday’s 3-1 regular season finale win over Sacramento State to secure a spot in the conference tournament — and Nunes has assisted on all four of them as well. The dynamic duo has built a close relationship off the pitch, and that connection is now translating into goals on it.
“We are taking full advantage of it, it’s a pretty special one,” Silva said about their relationship, “and it’s peaking at the right time, right into postseason play.”
Nunes, a member of the Big West All-Rookie Team, nearly ended the match with just over 30 seconds remaining in the first 10-minute overtime period. Following a corner kick and scramble in front where multiple Cal Poly players took a jab at the ball, Nunes stepped forward from near the top of the 18-yard box and fired a shot toward the right post that Mikayla O’Brien, the Big West Goalkeeper of the Year, made a diving save on to keep out of the back of the net.
“CBU is a really hard team,” Silva said, “they’ve had an incredible season all year, it’s hard to score goals on them, and for us to find a way to score one goal I thought that was really incredible.”
Despite being scoreless at the end of regulation, Cal Poly was the aggressor in the match and seemed to be on the cusp of finding the back of the net throughout the first 90 minutes of play, posting a 12-8 shot advantage in regulation and finishing with a 14-8 one to end the night.
Making her 37th consecutive start, goalkeeper Shannon Porubski secured three saves to earn her sixth clean sheet of the season and 15th of her career, tied for seventh most in program history.
“There were so many incredible individual efforts today, our backline was outstanding,” Silva said.
Cal Poly’s backline — made up of senior Siena Urzua, juniors Lilly Cole and Mya Clarke and sophomore Sam Walker — never stepped off the pitch in the match, and Thomas and sophomore Farra Franklin also played a full 110 minutes.
Cal Poly snapped Cal Baptist’s five-match unbeaten match streak and scored just the third goal the Lancers (9-4-5) have allowed at the CBU Soccer Stadium all season.
Wednesday marked Cal Poly’s first overtime match since Camille Lafaix netted a 99th-minute golden goal in a 3-2 home victory over UC San Diego on Oct. 17, 2021. It was also the Mustangs’ first match in the Big West tournament that went to extra time since coming up short to Long Beach State in penalties during the 2014 semifinals.
“When you build a program from the foundation to win in postseason play, these moments are the byproduct of it,” Silva said.
Cal Poly plays Utah Valley (13-4-3) for a spot in the Big West Championship match at 5 p.m. PT Saturday live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Isis Salazar-Ortega (5)
Assisted By: Kate Nunes
GOAL by CPM Salazar-Ortega, Isis Assist by Nunes, Kate.
109:56
