A goal early in the second half by Cal Poly Men’s Soccer junior forward Oren Stuppel was the decider in the close 1-0 win over Cal State Fullerton at Titan Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 19.
The victory pushes the Mustangs (6-4-5, 3-1-2 Big West) into a joint lead in the conference, with UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Bakersfield on 11 points with just three games left before the Big West Tournament.
The Mustang defense held back a strong Titan (6-5-5, 2-2-2 Big West) attack for 90 minutes, turning back 14 Cal State Fullerton shots and junior goalkeeper Nicky McCune recording five saves on the evening.
McCune also added to his Big West-leading shutout total of seven, improving his already impressive run in 2024.
Coming into the match, Cal State Fullerton was tied with Cal Poly for third in the Big West.
Each team specialized on different sides of the field, with the Mustangs giving up the fewest goals in the conference (10) while the Titans scored the most goals out of all Big West teams (32).
Cal Poly had just five shots on Saturday but converted a chance set up on the edge of the penalty area by freshman forward Colin Pearce and held on to their advantage until the final whistle to take their first victory in Fullerton in 12 years.
Cal Poly returns home on Wednesday, Oct. 23, to face UC Irvine at 7 p.m. UC Irvine is just two points behind the Mustangs in a three-way tie for second in the Big West.
