After a 5-1 win at Air Force on Friday, the Cal Poly men’s soccer team’s five-game win streak was snapped on Sunday with a 2-1 loss to Denver. The Mustangs open Big West play Oct. 4 against UC Riverside.
Mustang News Staff Report
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The Mustangs’ five-game win streak was snapped by the Denver Pioneers in a second-half surge, leading to a 2-1 loss for Cal Poly on Sunday night in Denver.
Coming off an impressive 5-1 win against Air Force (0-8-0), the Mustangs were looking to extended their win streak, but to no avail.
Within 15 minutes of play in the second half, Denver (4-3-2) scored two goals to secure the win over Cal Poly (7-3-0). The only Cal Poly goal came in the 28th minute when sophomore Chase Minter set up John Chronopoulos for his second goal of the year.
The Pioneers, however, captured the momentum with a goal off a penalty kick, the second the Mustangs have allowed this year. Denver’s Cole Chapleski scored after he was fouled by Cal Poly goalkeeper Wade Hamilton.
Despite the early goal, the Mustangs were only able to get off two more shots on goal for the rest of the match. Chronopoulos tried to rally the team with an attempt at goal along with midfielder George Malki.
After Malki’s effort to score, midfielder Ruben Duran got his first career red card and was removed from the game, leaving Cal Poly down a man. Following the ejection, Chapleski lined up for Denver’s second penalty kick of the night, which Hamilton managed to stop for his 33rd save of the year.
Denver grabbed the lead in the 68th minute with a pass into the box to Pioneer Zach Bolden who pocketed the goal into the corner past Hamilton.
After the game-winning goal, the match concluded with several back-to-back fouls by both teams leading to a yellow card for Denver. Despite the card, the Pioneers’ defense was able to hold off Cal Poly’s offense and controlled the ball for most of the remaining minutes.
The Mustangs come home to play UC Riverside in the Big West Conference opener at Alex G. Spanos Stadium. Kick off is set for Oct. 4 at 8 p.m.
Colin Patterson contributed to this report.