Following crucial halftime adjustments, a trio of sophomore second-half goals propelled Cal Poly Men’s Soccer to a 3-1 win over Sacramento State on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at Mustang Memorial Field.
The Mustangs (5-3-4) secured their spot at the top of the Big West Conference with their dominant win over the Hornets (4-6-2). They are now tied with Cal State Fullerton with a 2-0-1 conference record.
UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Bakersfield drew 1-1 on Wednesday night, with the Mustangs trailing by two points at the top of the standings.
All in their second year with the team, defender Parker Owens and midfielders Jackson Miller and Diego Guerra found the back of the Sacramento State net.
Miller and Owens had not scored this year before the match, but they became No. 9 and No. 10 on a growing list of Mustang goalscorers in 2024.
“Everyone tries to get their goal, but there’s just one team, so it was nice that it was me tonight,” Miller said.
Cal Poly has found many ways to score throughout the year, but Guerra is a familiar face in a familiar position at the penalty spot.
Guerra scored a brace off of a penalty kick in the Blue-Green rivalry game in San Luis Obispo earlier this year and found the same success against Sacramento State on Wednesday.
“I can give all credit to my coach, Oige, just having confidence in what he thinks I should do, and just slotting it home,” Guerra said.
Now 4-0 at home, Cal Poly has given up just one goal in the four matches they’ve played at Mustang Memorial Field.
A late penalty goal from Sacramento State prevented the Mustangs from securing their fourth straight shutout, but Cal Poly’s defense remains tied for the best in the Big West at just nine goals allowed over their 12 games.
Many of Cal Poly’s games have been defensive battles, and the first half of the match on Wednesday was no different, with just three total shots in the first 45 minutes of the game.
Cal Poly Head Coach Oige Kennedy made adjustments at halftime, and the Mustangs scored twice within the first three minutes of the second half.
“In this game, when you’re the aggressor and you have the ball a lot, the onus is on us, especially at home, to create chances,” Kennedy said. “Credit to the guys to not get frustrated and then refocus in on it.”
Cal Poly will face UC Riverside at Mustang Memorial Field on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m. before returning to the road next week.
“We have to take the positives from what we’ve just done, but we have to be ready to play a different game on Saturday,” Kennedy said.
