Cal Poly Men’s Soccer upset No. 13 UC Santa Barbara, 2-0, in the highest-attended NCAA soccer match of the year on Saturday, Sept. 28, at Mustang Memorial Field.
The Mustangs (3-3-3) shut out the Gauchos (6-2-1) in front of the largest crowd in the NCAA this year, claiming their first Blue-Green rivalry victory since 2018.
Two Cal Poly penalties were the deciding factor in the game.
Senior midfielder Nate Colley took advantage of the rebound of his penalty early in the first half, while sophomore midfielder Diego Guerra secured the Mustangs’ lead with a strong strike from the penalty spot in the 70th minute.
Home Field Dominance
The victory played out in front of a crowd of 9,657 fans, more than 3,000 higher than any other attendance in NCAA men’s soccer this year. The count also ranks as the 32nd-highest attendance of all time for Division 1 soccer.
“We want this to be the worst place for people [opposing teams] to come visit in terms of an atmosphere and how we play,” Cal Poly Head Coach Oige Kennedy said.
The Mustangs have won every game they’ve played at Mustang Memorial Field in 2024 without giving up a goal at home.
They are also undefeated in their last five matches, three of which have been ranked in the top 50 by the Rating Percentage Index when they faced Cal Poly.
Coming into the game, the Gauchos were ranked No. 13 in the country, and their offense was ranked in the top 10 nationally.
They are the first ranked opponent the Mustangs have beaten since Sept. 26, 2019, when Cal Poly took down Loyola Marymount at home.
UC Santa Barbara was held to a shutout on Saturday by goalkeeper Nicky McCune and a strong defensive front for the Mustangs.
The defense stopped many Gaucho attacks before they threatened a shot, and McCune was only forced to make one save against the historically dominant Gaucho offense.
“[We] know that they’re good players. They can make stuff happen, but we have great defenders too, and I’d take them any day of the week,” Colley said.
Colley scored the opening goal of the match, heading in a rebound off of a crucial penalty that was originally drawn by junior midfielder Bakuena Ramakatsa.
Colley ended the game with a match-high three shots, all of which forced saves out of UC Santa Barbara goalkeeper David Mitzner.
In his last year with the team, Colley has the most experience of any Mustang player against their rivals. Two years ago, he also scored as a result of a penalty in the Blue-Green rivalry.
Not only did veterans make a difference in the matchup, but freshman forward Finn Linas played a key role in the rivalry this year, drawing the game’s second penalty to help secure the win for the Mustangs.
After the game, he spoke about how the fans contributed to the team’s dominance at home.
“They had 9000 people screaming at them, yelling at them, getting them off their game,” Linas said, “They were definitely the 12th man on the field today.”
UC Santa Barbara’s best chance came in the second half, when forward Alexis Ledoux, the Gauchos’ leading scorer in 2024, crossed a corner kick into the box that was only stopped from reaching the Mustangs’ net by the left post of goalkeeper McCune’s goal.
Otherwise, Ledoux did not seriously impact the match, with no shots in the game and limited touches on the ball.
The Mustangs dominated possession of the ball throughout the match, outshooting UC Santa Barbara 11-4 and dictating the pace of play with controlled tactics.
“It’s all about the guys… they bought into what we’re doing, and I think they got the win in the rivalry game because of all that hard work,” Kennedy said.
What’s next
Despite the massive win, this matchup against UC Santa Barbara did not count towards their Big West Conference records.
The Mustangs will travel to play UC Davis to open conference play on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 3 p.m.
The Aggies knocked Cal Poly out of the Big West Championship last year with a score of 0-1, the second of two losses to UC Davis in 2023.
“This is where we’ll find out about ourselves, because we have to make it more about not just winning one game a year or playing against Santa Barbara,” Kennedy said.
The Mustangs will play UC Santa Barbara again this year, and the game will count towards the Big West Conference standings. It will be played on Sunday, October 6, at 4 p.m. at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara.
The last time Cal Poly beat the Gauchos in Santa Barbara was in 2015, which was the same year the Mustangs last won both Blue-Green rivalry games in the same year. With a victory in the year’s first leg, Cal Poly is set to repeat history with a win next week.
“This is a great reward for all the hard work, but it’s only the start of what we want to do,” Kennedy said.