Cal Poly Women’s Soccer got back into the scoring column on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to get over the hump as they tied with Long Beach State 2-2 at Mustang Memorial Field.
The Mustangs (3-8-3, 1-3-1 Big West) have continued to struggle to close games this season, but their draw to the Beach (5-6-2, 2-2-1 Big West) was a positive sign for the team who hadn’t scored a goal in the past two games.
“I thought we played well, we scored some goals, we could have gotten a couple more,” head coach Alex Crozier said. “It’s just a matter of creating the opportunities and having a mindset of ‘let’s go finish them’ instead of hoping someone finishes them.”
The start time was moved from noon to 9 a.m. due to a heat advisory in San Luis Obispo.
After going down a goal midway through the first half, graduate student midfielder/forward Whitney Wiley broke the ice for the Mustangs, scoring a spectacular goal from the back of the box to put the team on the board.
Less than two minutes later, junior forward Jessie Halladay scored on a penalty kick off a handball by the Beach to push the Mustangs ahead.
It was Halladay’s second of the season, and she nearly scored two more times later in the game, finishing with three shots on goal and an assist.
“I’m really proud of everyone. I felt like those goals came from working hard together as a team, and I’m really glad that we got some action in the box and got a couple goals, because it’s been a couple games without scoring,” Halladay said.
The Mustangs showed increased aggressiveness, outshooting the Beach 13 to nine.
Junior midfielder Brennan Cole kept the Long Beach defense on edge all game, trying multiple shot attempts off the kickoff or from midfield distance and nearly making one in the 80th minute.
“Brennan’s got a good eye for it, sometimes the keeper will come out, so it’s really important to take that into account, especially because Brennan has a bigger ball that she can hit,” Halladay said. “So if we have that little gap that we can go for, why not go for it.”
In the end, the Mustangs couldn’t hold the lead, giving up a last-minute game-tying goal to the Beach.
Despite the draw, the Mustangs’ defensive consistency was on display yet again. They haven’t allowed more than two goals in a game since the beginning of the conference.
Poor luck and offensive struggles have kept the Mustangs in the bottom third of the Big West, and with just five games left, they need a sharp turnaround to make it into the top six teams that will advance to the playoffs.
“I told them we’re in a good spot, I think we’re one of the strongest teams in the conference. But, that doesn’t guarantee wins. We just need to put ourselves in a position where we’re in the conference tournament, and then sort it out from there,” Crozier said.
The Mustangs will get the next week and a half off to regroup before traveling to Northridge to face CSUN on Oct. 17 at 6 p.m.