Cal Poly Women’s Soccer struggled to score again, failing to find a goal in their 2-0 loss to UC Irvine on Friday.
The Mustangs (3-8-2, 1-3 Big West) were shut out in their rematch against the 2023 Big West Women’s Soccer Champion Anteaters (4-4-3, 2-0-1 Big West).
Cal Poly’s offense found many chances, outshooting UC Irvine 14-6, but struggled to capitalize.
The Mustangs pressured UC Irvine goalkeeper Ashley Naylor to make six saves but couldn’t find the score.
“I thought we created our chances, just couldn’t find the back of the net,” head coach Alex Crozier said.
The Mustangs’ best scoring chance came in the 27th minute as sophomore Annika Smith crossed the ball in the box to junior Brennan Cole, who sent a shot that bounced off the bottom of the crossbar.
Senior forward Kate Reedy led the team with four shots, while graduate midfielder Whitney Wiley and freshman midfielder Kiki Vostermans both contributed three of their own. All three players found chances but couldn’t convert.
“Goal scoring is hard,” Crozier said. “We work on finishing a lot, and we’re just going to keep at it.”
Despite conceding two goals, the Mustang defense was once again a bright spot on the team.
The Cal Poly backline prevented the Anteaters from blowing the game open with the efforts of junior defender Camryn Penn and senior defenders Emma Brown and Aynsley Conner.
Brown, the 2023 Big West Defensive Player of the Year, moved into sixth on Cal Poly’s all-time career matches started list with her appearance.
The trouble for the Mustang defense came on two corners, both of which were headed in for goals to give UC Irvine the 2-0 win.
With the loss, Cal Poly drops to a tied sixth in the Big West standings. However, it will hope to turn things around as conference play continues.
The Mustangs will stay home as they prepare to face Long Beach State on Sunday, Oct. 6, at 9 a.m.