The final away match of the season for Cal Poly Men’s Soccer ended with a 1-1 draw against Cal State Northridge on Saturday at Matador Soccer Stadium.
After the draw, the Mustangs (6-4-7, 3-1-4 Big West) slid into a tie for third place in the conference with UC San Diego. Both teams are one point behind Cal State Bakersfield for second place and two points behind top-seeded UC Santa Barbara.
The Cal Poly defense continued to shine, keeping CSUN from producing a shot attempt until early into the 12th minute when Matadors defender Deryk Jones Jr. collided with junior goalkeeper Nicky McCune inside the penalty area in a scramble for the ball.
McCune was called for the foul, and Matadors forward Marley Edwards converted the penalty kick attempt to give CSUN an early 1-0 lead.
However, this would be the lone goal for the Matadors, as the Mustangs’ defense foiled any further CSUN attempts at finding the back of the net.
McCune recorded four saves in the evening, including three second-half saves in five minutes, to limit the Matadors to one goal on the night. This is the 15th of 18 games played in the season in which McCune has allowed one goal or less.
The Mustangs attempted to keep pace with the Matador offense but were ultimately outshot by CSUN 8-11 and outdone in corner kick opportunities as well, launching three corner kicks to the Matadors’ seven.
The Matadors’ lead would remain untouched through the first half and briefly into the second, but a foul on senior forward Ashton Alonge in the 59th minute would allow the Mustangs a penalty kick attempt.
Sophomore defender Joaquin Torres took the attempt, rocketed the ball towards the net and found nylon for the Mustangs’ solitary goal of the match to equalize the game at one goal apiece.
The Mustangs will play their final regular season match on Saturday, Nov. 2nd, at Mustang Memorial Field against second-place Cal State Bakersfield in a final push for the top spot in the Big West Conference and the ensuing Big West Championship.