For the first time in 10 years, Cal Poly tasted victory in the Big West Championship.
In spite of a hectic final day of regular season play leaving the Mustangs without a bye and injuries plaguing the team late in the season, Cal Poly persevered.
No. 3 seeded Cal Poly took on No. 6 UC San Diego in the first round, coming away from the contest with a 2-0 victory and a spot in the Big West Championship semi-finals vs UC Irvine on Saturday.
“As a coach, what we wanted to see every year we’ve been here is progression,” head coach Oige Kennedy said. “These guys, you know, have taken the jersey and left it in a better place by showing how well they’ve done.”
Better year by year
Cal Poly’s incremental progress, over the course of the three years of Kennedy’s tenure, has resulted in impressive overall results.
Every year, the Mustangs have improved on their record from the season before. In 2025, Cal Poly netted eight wins and their second Big West Regular Season title in two years.
The progress hasn’t gone unrecognized by the Big West, as a program record eight Mustangs took home Big West awards at the end of the regular season, improving on the previous record of six awards set in 2024.
Senior goalkeeper Nicky McCune sits at the helm of Cal Poly’s success and the award haul, earning Big West Goalkeeper of the Year for the second year running.
“He’s too humble to say it, but we’re so fortunate to have him,” Kennedy said. “It gives so much confidence to our group. He’s been absolutely dominant all season long.”
Despite the recognition, the most important part of the team’s progress, especially at this point in the season, is them winning a postseason matchup after a decade-long drought.
No. 3 Cal Poly vs No. 6 UC San Diego
Coming into the match against UC San Diego, the Mustangs knew what they had to do to secure victory.
The teams faced off earlier this year at Mustang Memorial field, where Cal Poly routed the Tritons 4-0 for one of their biggest wins of the season.
At the same venue, against the same team, Cal Poly had the same mission. Only this time, the stakes were higher.
With their season on the line, the Mustangs came through, producing another dominant performance against their Southern California opponent.
Cal Poly, despite three chances that went millimeters away from changing the scoreline, were still level with UC San Diego going into the second half. The Mustangs led in shots, chances and had 11 corner kicks in the first half, but the ball seemed allergic to the Triton net.
But in the second 45 minutes of play, sophomore forward Finn Linas stepped up, and a ball finally bounced Cal Poly’s way. Forced by a shot from junior forward Jack Civitts, the rebounded ball landed at Linas’ feet, and he didn’t waste his opportunity.
“Our relentlessness constantly getting after them, that’s really what that goal comes from,” Linas said. “I think it could have been anyone in our front four, front six, that goal falls to and I’m lucky enough it was me.”
As much as Linas gives credit to his teammates, his effort was a key factor in the goal and Cal Poly’s eventual win. Just six minutes after his goal, Linas forced a UC San Diego foul and red card that left the Tritons with 10 men and little hope of getting back into the match.
The final nail in the coffin was a UC San Diego own-goal off of a deflection caused by redshirt freshman defender Michael Vick’s strike in the 72nd minute.
Cal Poly finished out the match, moving on in the postseason and continuing a four-match streak of clean sheets dating back to Oct. 22.
McCune’s stretch of shutouts undoubtedly led to his second Goalkeeper of the Year award, but he credited the team in front him for the success he’s been able to achieve.
“I mean, this is all the defense, they do absolutely everything,” McCune said. “They prevent good shots and block shots and work hard every single day makes my job really easy.”
The dominant win leads Cal Poly back to a familiar place, the semi-final round in which they fell in 2024.
Back to the semis
One major factor separates their last year’s team from the 2025 squad. This year’s team has been to a Big West semi-final before, and enters the match with an extra year of experience under its belt.
Cal Poly also knows what to expect in the next round, having faced their semi-final opponent UC Irvine earlier this season. The Mustangs traveled down to Anteater Stadium in October, where they came away with a 1-1 draw against the Anteaters.
“Success leaves you clues, I don’t think that these games will always be the same because of that knockout feel to it, but we have an identity that we want to lean into,” Kennedy said.
The semi-final match in Irvine kicks off Saturday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. on ESPN+. The winner will move on to the Big West Championship, facing the winner of the UC Davis vs. UC Santa Barbara matchup on the other side of the Championship bracket.
“It’s going to be a great matchup,” Kennedy said. “For us, we just want to make sure that we go out and try and take as much opportunity as we can to keep giving these guys more games.”