Despite 110 minutes of hard-fought regulation and overtime play, the Big West Championship semi-final was going to be decided by penalty kicks.
The entire season was coming down to one shot.
Head Coach Oige Kennedy’s signature tactics were reduced to deciding the next kick taker, and after a back and forth penalty battle, the score was 4-4. The fate of the Mustangs rested in a battle between senior goalkeeper Nicky McCune and UC Davis defender Zack Lillington.
Fans at Mustang Memorial Field waited with bated breath as Lillington stepped up for UC Davis’ sixth and final penalty shot. Even as fans and players closed their eyes in nervous anticipation, the sound of the ball hitting Cal Poly’s net was unmistakable.
The final score was official, 1-1 (5-4 on penalties), and for the second year running, Cal Poly’s season ended at the hands of UC Davis.
But in 2025, in the first matchup against UC Davis (0-5-3) since the loss, Cal Poly (3-3-3) is not only coming for revenge against the Aggies in its first nationally televised game in five years.
“We didn’t get the result we wanted, so we’re coming back for revenge,” McCune said.
With four matchups, including two postseason clashes in the last two years, a rivalry has begun to form between the Big West squads.
To begin both teams’ Big West Conference season, the budding rivalry matchup will be broadcast on ESPNU. The network hosted 2024 NCAA men’s soccer tournament matches, which reached nearly 80,000 viewers across the country.
Crucially, the match will be played in San Luis Obispo at Mustang Memorial Field, a stadium in which the men’s soccer team hold a 12-game unbeaten streak.
“Getting the national broadcaster there is going to be fun to play in front of,” Kennedy said. “We want everybody to represent Cal Poly and show what a great, special place it is. It’s been a place where we’ve been very consistent and very strong.”
Cal Poly’s streak includes the Mustangs’ most recent win against UC Davis, a 1-0 victory from the 2024 regular season.
Cal Poly vs UC Davis: How did we get here?
The Mustangs and the Aggies have been facing off regularly since 2010, with Cal Poly going 8-11-5 against UC Davis all-time.
But only in recent years, following crucial Big West Tournament matches, has the rivalry between the teams started to take off.
UC Davis took down Cal Poly in both the 2023 and 2024 Big West Tournaments, first with a 1-0 performance, then with the 2024 heartbreaker on penalties.
Close matches have been a staple of Cal Poly vs UC Davis as all five of their most recent matchups have been decided by one goal or less. Both teams have also been notoriously defensive-minded, since neither team has scored more than one goal apiece in any of those five matches.
“Those games are super athletic, super physical, but we have more depth,” redshirt sophomore midfielder Rylan Firouznam said. “I think together as a team, we’ve gotten stronger, and we’ve built more chemistry. I think we’ll take it this year.”
On top of Firouznam’s vote of confidence, Cal Poly has a much better record with a similar strength of schedule to UC Davis.
Both teams faced off against the University of San Francisco, who ranked No. 20 in the nation when they played Cal Poly earlier this year. The Mustangs took a tie away from the matchup, while the Aggies took a loss in theirs.
Cal Poly has also started to pick up momentum right before conference play, going undefeated in their last five matches.
We’ve made some mistakes in some of the games that we’ve played already, but that’s made us strong,” senior midfielder Bakuena Ramakatsa said. “It’s good that we made those mistakes now, in non-conference games so that we can be more alert.”
While Cal Poly’s record reflects their shift in quality, their improvements on the defensive side of the field signify a return to the defensive excellence that earned the Mustangs the 2024 Big West Regular Season title.
Cal Poly have only conceded two goals in their last five games, earning four clean sheets on their way into 2025 conference play.
The Mustangs also recently added junior midfielder Diego Guerra back into their lineup after an injury sidelined the 2024 All-Big West First Team member for a large part of non-conference play.
“I think I can speak for everybody, that we have a grudge towards Davis and they have a grudge towards us,” Guerra said. “It’s going to be a great game.”
Guerra’s addition into the squad will be a crucial resource for the Mustangs, because although UC Davis’ record is nothing impressive, the Aggies have put up impressive performances in 2025.
Know your opponent
UC Davis’ winless season is indicative of the problems the team has had in 2025, but their record doesn’t capture the fact that one goal has been the difference in all but one of their losses.
The Aggies’ put up an impressive performance in a 0-1 defeat against No. 4 ranked Stanford, holding their own against one of the best teams in the nation throughout the entire match.
Senior forward Cason Goodman has been a bright spot for the Aggies, leading the team with two goals and adding an assist against St. Mary’s earlier this month. The goal leader earned a 2024 All-Big West First Team mention after an 11 goal and three assist season en route to a Big West Championship.
So while the Big West opener against UC Davis seems like an easy matchup, according to Kennedy, no match is ever guaranteed in a difficult Big West conference.
“We’ve got two tough games in Davis and Irvine, so we want to start the conference off the right way,” Kennedy said.
The match begins at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 1, and will be streaming nationally on ESPNU. Cal Poly students receive free entry to all Cal Poly regular season sports events, and all other fans can purchase tickets on GoPoly.
