Despite Cal Poly men’s soccer holding UCLA to seven total shots, the Mustangs fell in their first exhibition game 1-0 to the Bruins in Wallis Annenberg Stadium.
With new head coach Oige Kennedy, the Mustangs are looking to bounce back from a season where the team went 2-11-4 (2-5-1 Big West) and finished second-to-last in the conference.
The Mustangs’ defense held the Bruins, who reached the third round of last year’s NCAA Tournament, to only two shots on goal throughout the exhibition.
Cal Poly junior goalkeeper Gabe Penner tipped a line drive over the crossbar to prevent a score on one of the shots on goal.
However, the other Bruins’ shot on goal came in the 38th minute when UCLA senior defender Grayson Doody received a pass on a free kick and placed it perfectly in the top left corner of the net on a header.
The Bruins’ score was the only goal from either side through the whole match.
On the other hand, the Mustangs struggled to keep possession of the ball and finished with two total shots.
At the end of the first half, the Mustangs made a run to the Bruins’ goalie box, but the shot missed the right post by a few inches.
On the defensive side, the Mustangs played scrappy defense but in the process rounded up three yellow cards.
Junior forward Jackson Kestler received a red card in the 54th minute when he tackled the goalie too late trying to score.
The Mustangs will take on San Jose State for their second of three exhibition games on Aug. 19 at 2 p.m. Their first in-season game will be at home against Oral Roberts on Aug. 28.