A seemingly unrealistic number of circumstances had to fall into place for Cal Poly Men’s Soccer to sit on top of the Big West for the second year straight.
UC Santa Barbara could have won against Cal State Northridge, or Cal State Fullerton could have won either of their last two matches to clinch the No. 1 seed, but they didn’t.
Cal Poly (8-5-5, 5-2-2 Big West), meanwhile, took care of Cal State Bakersfield (3-11-3, 3-4-2) on Saturday night with a 2-0 shutout, earning three points and putting the team on par with both UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara at the top of the Big West.
The three programs serve as the 2025 Big West Regular Season Co-Champions, each taking a segment of the regular season crown.
Each team still slots into separate seeds for the Big West Tournament based on, in order of importance, regular season tiebreakers, goal difference and total goals scored. UC Santa Barbara earned the No. 1 seed through tiebreakers, UC Irvine clinched the No. 2 spot based on total goals scored, and Cal Poly earned the No. 3 spot and a match against UC San Diego (2-8-7, 2-2-5) on Wednesday, Nov. 5.
“We finished on the wrong side of a three-way tie, but we have the same amount of points as everybody else, and are very close on the goal differential,” head coach Oige Kennedy said. “I’m really proud of the fact that we won games and went out and played on the front foot.”
Cal Poly finished the season both on a three-match win streak and tied for the most wins in Big West play.
The Wild West
To get to the joint-top of the Big West, the main variable that needed to go Cal Poly’s way was their final regular season match against Cal State Bakersfield.
The Mustangs entered the match in need of a win. To add to the growing pressure, Cal Poly’s roster has been slowly chipped away by injuries throughout the season.
But on an away field, in the cool valley air, every Mustang played an integral role in the team’s triumph.
For one, junior midfielder Jackson Miller continued to step up when needed most. Down the final stretch of the season, Miller has consistently played the full 90 minutes of each match, serving as a consistent rock in the Mustang midfield.
His presence played a key role in Cal Poly’s end-of-year surge towards the top of the table.
“We had a bit of adversity in the middle of the season,” Miller said. “To go on the bounce and get three in a row, two being away. I think that says a lot about our character.”
On Saturday, he converted a penalty midway through the first half to put the Mustangs ahead of the Roadrunners.
Just after his conversion, Cal State Bakersfield was dealt a red card when junior forward Jack Civitts caught an elbow to the eye.The Roadrunners went down to 10 men, and from then on, the momentum only continued to go Cal Poly’s way.
Sophomore defender Charlie Hogan made the Mustangs’ hope a reality as the first half came to a close. Hogan rose above the Cal State Bakersfield defense with a towering header to put the Mustangs a true head and shoulders above their in-state opponent.
“Oige calls it the Wild West instead of the Big West,” Hogan said. “Every game matters. Every one’s gonna be a battle.”
Cal State Bakersfield fought for the rest of the match and kept the contest close. However, the score remained the same as the match and regular season came to a close.
The team’s third straight win also served as their third straight shutout, as senior goalkeeper Nicky McCune earned his eighth clean sheet of the year, tied for first in the Big West.
With the Big West, or in the words of Kennedy, the Wild West seedings decided, Cal Poly now knows what to prepare for in the approaching Big West Tournament.
Big West Championship preparation
Cal Poly has faced injuries, setbacks and a plethora of tough opponents on their journey to the postseason, but that hasn’t stopped the Mustangs from making progress year after year.
In the three years of Kennedy’s tenure, Cal Poly has both made the championship and improved on their previous win total each season.
Players like Miller, Hogan, senior defender Jake Oetinger and many more have stepped up to make that a reality. Players seeing limited minutes at the beginning of the year have also made their impact as opportunities have presented themselves in the final moments of the season.
“They prove what a student athlete should be,” Kennedy said. “They’re people that are locked in to what they’re trying to do every single day.”
The team now will look ahead to their next opponent, UC San Diego. The Tritons defeated Cal State Fullerton in its final match to clinch the No. 6 seed and a date with Cal Poly at Mustang Memorial Field.
The Mustangs took down the Tritons 4-0 in San Luis Obispo earlier this year, but in the Wild West, no match is guaranteed. However, as Kennedy and Cal Poly see continued success, the postseason is becoming more and more familiar.
“We’ve always talked about making the postseason something that we’re not surprised by,” Kennedy said. “We’re always planning for success, and we want to get this team where it can get itself into the national tournament consistently. I don’t think we’re far away from doing that.”
