Cal Poly men’s soccer suffered their first loss of the season in a 2-0 defeat at Saint Mary’s on Sunday.
The Mustangs (0-1-1) search for the first win of the season continues, despite increased offensive pressure and a shot advantage against the Gaels (1-1-0).
The two teams last squared off in 2021, with the Mustangs edging out a 2-1 victory against the Gaels.
The time in between the matchups has seen almost entirely new rosters for both squads, with only a few returning players for Cal Poly playing in both matches.
The only goals of the match came from Saint Mary’s only two shots in the first half, both out-of-the-box missiles finding the corners of junior goalkeeper Nicky Mccune’s net.
Senior forward Wade Muttitt opened the scoring in the eighth minute with a rifle off of the Cal Poly goalpost, with the Mustang defense unable to close the angle to the goal.
His success was quickly followed by senior forward Jude Zamora, who belted another powerful shot into the top-left corner of the Cal Poly net.
Despite the slow start, the Mustangs controlled possession of the ball for much of the first half, with long balls from sophomore defender Parker Owens and pressure from crosses and corner kicks netting Cal Poly serious chances in the Gaels’ penalty area.
The Mustangs would end the half with five shots, including a chance from junior defender Nico Baltazar that was turned away by Saint Mary’s goalkeeper Sam Bentley, overall outpacing their competition but unable to cross the final hurdle.
The second half of the match continued in a back-and-forth battle, with play ranging from box-to-box and three out of the four yellow cards in the match handed out for dangerous tackles, with each team picking up two offenses.
The Mustangs once again produced chances for their strikers, out-shooting the Gaels with another five shots and five corner kicks. However, despite much of the half spent in the Saint Mary’s half and penalty box, Cal Poly remained scoreless.
The Mustangs’ best chance of the match came from a curling attempt from 18 yards from junior midfielder Bakuena Ramakatsa that was repelled by an acrobatic save from Bentley.
The Gaels, playing off of the counter-attack for much of the second half, put pressure on the Mustangs’ defensive line, with two late shots, including a one-on-one breakaway from Muttitt, forcing key McCune saves to keep the score at 2-0, where it would end.
The Mustangs fielded a large portion of their new talent, including freshman forward Finn Linas, who scored twice in his first exhibition appearance against University of the Pacific, while redshirt freshman forward Armin Tehrani, had three shots in the match.
Chances to score were there to take advantage of against Saint Mary’s, as shown by a 10-7 shot advantage and a 8-5 corner kick edge, but the Mustangs’ finishing ultimately fell short when the final whistle blew.
The Mustangs continue their season-opening road trip against Oral Roberts on Thursday, Aug. 29 at 6:15 p.m.
