Cal Poly Men’s Soccer missed out on two sorely-needed points in the Big West conference after only earning one following draw in an away match against Sacramento State.
With a 1-1 draw on Wednesday afternoon, the Mustangs (5-4-5, 2-1-2 Big West) kept the Hornets (1-9-4, 0-3-2 Big West) winless within the conference but slid into fourth place in the Big West, trailing behind UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Bakersfield.
Cal Poly will play UCSB on Friday for third place in the conference.
The offenses on both sides showed an aggressive approach very early on into the match. Sacramento State fired three shot attempts within the first 12 minutes, the last of which found the back of the net near the left post.
Cal Poly was nearly equivalent in their early-game offensive pressure and efficiency. Just two minutes after allowing the Hornets to take the lead, the Mustangs found their first shot attempt and score in the 14th minute. Sophomore forward Colin Pearce netted the first goal of his season following assists from freshman midfielder Cole Aman and junior forward Jack Civitts.
Aman and Civitts, with the credits for the assist, now sit at three and four total assists on the season, respectively. Civitts currently is second on the team leaderboard for assists, and is tied for second in assists across the Big West. Aman sits a spot below him at third on the team in the assists category and is currently tied for sixth in assists in the conference.
As a unit, the Mustangs currently lead the conference in total assists with 22.
Cal Poly continued to utilize the momentum provided by the game-tying goal to make further pushes for offense throughout the rest of the match.
The Mustangs outshot the Hornets 12 to six in the game, their second consecutive time outshooting their opponents after failing to outshoot opposing teams for five straight games.
Despite the aggression, the Mustangs failed to convert any of their later shot attempts into points on the board. Junior forward Sean McTague fired past the Hornets’ goalkeeper in the 57th minute but had his potential fourth goal of the season called back by an offside penalty.
Cal Poly fired a total of five shots on target, forcing Hornets goalkeeper Andres Rosales to make four saves throughout the match.
Mustangs goalkeeper Nicky McCune was equally as impenetrable. McCune recorded four saves in the afternoon, split evenly across the match’s halves. This is the first time McCune had a four-save match in the last six games, with the last time being the first bout of the Blue-Green rivalry in late September.
Looking Ahead to Blue-Green
Cal Poly’s next match is the most crucial of the season so far. Trailing UCSB by a point for third place in the Big West, the Mustangs will take on the Gauchos at Mustang Memorial Field in a match that could shake up the conference standings.
Cal Poly is looking to extend its unbeaten streak against UCSB to four consecutive games. The last match ended in a scoreless tie between the two rivals.
The second round of the Blue-Green rivalry this season will kick off on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 4 p.m. at Mustang Memorial Field.