Under the bright Saturday night lights in October of 2015, with the cheers of 11,075 fans echoing around Mustang Memorial Field, Kody Wasaka takes the field for the most anticipated sporting event on the Central Coast.
A tense atmosphere and electric energy hangs over the stadium, a feeling Wasaka always remembered in the build-ups to each of his Blue-Green rivalry games during his four years with Cal Poly men’s soccer.
A massive line of avid supporters file down South Perimeter Road, each vying for a chance to be a part of the crucial match, a meeting the Gauchos had stolen away from the Mustangs in San Luis Obispo the year prior.
“As a player, this is our national championship, and in a sense, this is all eyes on you,” Wasaka said.
Much like the rivalry, in which the Mustangs have gone 12-15-7 all-time against the Gauchos, the 2015 game went back and forth.
A goal by Mustangs’ defender Ruben Duran was quickly equalized by the Gauchos.
Cal Poly retook the lead in the second half on the back of a strike by Kip Colvey, but again, UC Santa Barbara leveled the playing field by the end of regulation.
Twenty-three of the last 31 matches between Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara have been decided by one goal or drawn, and this closely contested game would be no different.
“I just remember not feeling tired when we came back onto the field, just ready for overtime and to give it our all,” Wasaka said.
Off of a corner kick, Wasaka ran a play he and teammate Jack O’Connor had practiced countless times over the three years they had been teammates.
He found space close to the near post and put himself in position for the perfectly placed ball, which got closer and closer to his head.
“I closed my eyes, heard the ball in the back of the net, and next thing I know I’m running into the middle of the field with everyone coming after me,” Wasaka recounts. “Definitely the highlight of my life.”
The 2015 match is just one that, over the past decade, has consistently been the biggest annual sporting event in both the San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.
The traditions, close matches, and hundreds of thousands of fans that have supported each side of the rivalry throughout its storied history set the stage for another electric matchup on Saturday.
“I’m fortunate as a coach to go to some of the best soccer environments in the country, I don’t think anything rivals the atmosphere that we have here,” Cal Poly Head Coach Oige Kennedy said.
Early days of the rivalry
The Blue-Green rivalry did not always exist, and before 2007, the Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara programs were on very different paths.
In the early 2000s, UC Santa Barbara emerged as a national contender, winning the Cal Poly matchup 12 straight times from 2001 to 2006, while the Mustangs suffered seven straight losing seasons.
In 2007, Cal Poly built Mustang Memorial Field, formerly Spanos Stadium. With a capacity of 11,075, the venue not only allowed fans to play a more significant role in the game but also breathed life back into the UC Santa Barbara matchup.
The match drew over 7,000 fans in October 2007, smashing Cal Poly’s attendance record and ranking eighth all-time across the NCAA.
That wasn’t the only victory of the night, as the Mustangs defied expectations to come out on top of the Gauchos, flipping the script and kicking off the Blue-Green rivalry that’s going strong today.
Stadium pulse
Since that victory, the two teams have met 24 times, with none of the following matches at Cal Poly drawing less attendance than 2007’s 7,143. Over the past 15 years, the Blue-Green Rivalry has sold out Mustang Memorial Field 10 times.
The years of rivalry have also sparked traditions between the fanbases. The most prominent is Cal Poly students and fans throwing tortillas onto and around Mustang Memorial Field, originally a UC Santa Barbara tradition when the Gauchos scored.
Tortilla interference has become so common during matches that Cal Poly Athletics asked local grocery stores in San Luis Obispo to remove their tortilla stock from the shelves before the game in 2022.
“Look, every rivalry has its own traditions, and I think that’s become a tradition,” Kennedy said.
Even with interference from flying tortillas, Cal Poly’s student body and community have consistently shown emphatic support for the rivalry game, with attendance only dipping under 10,000 once over the last ten years.
“I think the fans provide us with an extra player on the field, which is amazing,” Kennedy said. “We want to tap into that, but we often have to stay in control of what we’re trying to do and make sure we’re executing the plan.
Like the rest of college sports, the rivalry was delayed in 2020, and attendance slowed in the years following the pandemic.
Despite lower attendance numbers than usual, recent Cal Poly versus UC Santa Barbara matchups have still ranked in the top 50 most-attended NCAA soccer games of all time.
The Blue-Green rivalry as a whole accounts for 26 out of the top 50 most-attended games in men’s NCAA soccer history.
According to Kennedy, having fans in the seats is crucial for the Mustangs. Despite trouble on the road, Cal Poly is undefeated at Mustang Memorial Field this year.
“With all of the students back, the energy level on campus just changed automatically,” Kennedy said. “Then you add in the spice of Santa Barbara… the guys are always going to be up for this game.”
Senior midfielder and Mustangs’ Captain Nate Colley is one of the only team members to have gone through four years of the rivalry, and he’s confident in his final year that the Mustangs will be hungry for a result.
“I think the group’s ready, the group’s really excited, and so as long as we execute what we’re trying to do, we 100% can win this game,” Colley said.
With fans invested as ever in the matchup, this year’s Blue-Green rivalry will add another chapter to the historic Central Coast matchup.
What’s at stake
The Gauchos (6-1-1) come into the weekend ranked No. 13 in the nation following a victory over Portland University.
The Mustangs (2-3-3) have gained momentum throughout the season and are on a four-game unbeaten streak. Throughout the stretch, they have taken down two teams ranking within the top 50 in the country on the Rating Percentage Index.
Cal Poly’s defense has let in just two goals in the last four games, and junior goalkeeper Nicky McCune recorded a career-high six saves against Utah Tech last week.
The recent Big West Defensive Player of the Week holds down the Mustangs defensive core and is another Cal Poly player with experience against UCSB.
That plan will limit a Gaucho team that scored 19 goals in eight games in 2024 and ranks in the top 10 offensively in the NCAA.
“It’s going to be an exciting game of soccer,” Kennedy said, “We’re excited to match our best defenders against their best attackers and see who comes out.”
The two teams have faced each other twice yearly for much of the Blue-Green rivalry. Only one of the games counts towards their conference records, and the host switches every year.
The Mustangs’ home game will be on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Mustang Memorial Field, the first home game with students back in the stands.
This year’s conference matchup will be played at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara on Oct. 6 at 4 p.m.
