Cal Poly Women’s Soccer snapped their four-game losing streak with a convincing 5-1 win over the University of Nevada on Senior Day on Saturday, Sept. 22 at Mustang Memorial Field.
The Mustangs (2-6-2, 0-1 Big West) scored five second-half goals and totaled 14 more shots than the Wolf Pack (2-7) in a statement win to wrap up non-conference play.
Before the match, the team celebrated their 12 seniors alongside their families.
“All of [the seniors] are super amazing, especially Emma Brown, Aynsley [Connor] and McKenna [Carbon] who are like the captains,” sophomore forward Annika Smith said. “They’ve put so much time and effort into this team over their four years.”
The team has 30 returning players, the most in all of Division 1, which gives younger players like Smith a deep pool of experience to draw from.
“I’m a super senior, so I think the past two years, I’ve felt like I need to speak for my teammates,” senior forward Kate Reedy said. “I think everyone on the team, especially the seniors, are captains in their own way. Even though I don’t have a captain role I like to take a lead on the field and get my team going.”
The Mustangs faced a challenging schedule early on, and the win points them in the right direction after scoring just one goal over their last two games.
After a scoreless first half, Cal Poly came out of the break with a renewed spark and displayed an impressive offensive pace.
“When we went into halftime we decided as a group that we needed to go out there and pretend that we were down one goal, and I think we came out pretty well,” Reedy said.
Reedy was among the four different Mustangs to score in the game.
Sophomore midfielder Sophia Moness broke the scoreless tie on a penalty kick after a Cal Poly shot was blocked by a handball in the box. Junior midfielder Brennan Cole also added the first goal of her collegiate career.
Smith sealed the win with two goals in the game’s final three minutes, marking the third multi-goal match in her Cal Poly career.
“I think scoring goals is exactly what we needed to do today in order to go into conference [play] with confidence,” Reedy said. “Today just really sealed the deal that we are a good team and we can work hard and win games.”
The Mustangs will continue to Big West Conference play for the remainder of the season, beginning on Thursday, Sept. 26, at 7:30 p.m. on the road against UC Riverside.