Cal Poly Women’s Soccer struggled to find their footing in a rainy 1-0 loss to Blue-Green rival UC Santa Barbara at Mustang Memorial Field.
The Mustangs (1-6-2, 0-1 Big West) could not capitalize offensively despite controlling possession for most of the game and leading the Gauchos (3-3-4, 1-0 Big West) in total shots, 10 to six.
Rain was a factor early in the annual Blue-Green game, as incoming Cal Poly students in the stands were soaked midway through the first half while the Mustangs were in a defensive battle against their conference rivals.
“It’s always tight with Santa Barbara,” head coach Alex Crozier said. “They are a good team. They are well coached, organized, and both teams are always fired up to play.”
The Mustangs played strong defensively, aside from their only allowed goal in the 78th minute, which proved to be the difference in the closely contested game.
Senior forward Kate Reedy led the team with three shots attempted, but none found the rain-soaked net.
“I think we had some opportunities to shoot in the first half,” Crozier said. “We’re oftentimes looking for the perfect shot, which will never come, and so when there’s an opportunity we need to just take advantage of it.”
Senior goalkeeper Mackenzie Samuel saved the other two shots on goal, thanks to strong efforts from Cal Poly’s defense, seniors Emma Brown and Aynsley Connor, and freshman Lauren Collier.
The loss brings the Mustangs’ current losing streak to four. Still, room for optimism remains within the team as the four losses came against strong opponents, including nationally ranked programs Santa Clara and UCLA.
“We can still accomplish what we want to accomplish, regardless of what happened in the past,” Crozier said. “We’re kind of still a work in progress. But it’s a good group, I think our best is still yet to come.”
The Mustangs will now host Nevada and celebrate senior day in a non-conference matchup on Sunday, Sept. 22, at 12 p.m. at Mustang Memorial Field.