Cal Poly Women’s Soccer couldn’t overcome UC San Diego in a 2-0 final on Thursday, Oct. 31, at La Jolla Stadium in their final match of the season and head coach Alex Crozier’s career.
Failing to finish in the top six of the Big West conference, the Mustangs (5-11-3, 3-6-1 Big West) will not make the postseason.
The teams played loosely in an intense first half as the Tritons (3-12-4, 1-6-3 Big West) also came into the game mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.
Cal Poly had the offensive advantage early, finding eight shots, forcing Triton goalkeeper Ginny Fronk to make six first-half saves as they applied pressure on the UC San Diego defense.
Senior Mackenzie Samuel anchored the Mustangs’ defense, making multiple outstanding saves to keep the game level.
However, the Tritons found their rhythm in the second half and never looked back.
In the 60th minute, UC San Diego’s Courtney Hilliard sent a perfect cross into the box where Lindsey Park was waiting to tap the ball into the net.
Cal Poly continued to knock on the door on offense by adding 12 more shots, but Fronk made a career-high 14 saves to deny the Mustangs.
After conceding another goal in the 65th minute, Cal Poly failed to find the net to finish the match and their season.
The Mustangs had the most returners in Division I women’s soccer this season (31), meaning they will lose 11 seniors to graduation. These include impact players such as Samuel, defenders Emma Brown and Aynsley Conner, and forward Kate Reedy.
However, they will need to replace not only key players but also their longtime head coach.
Alex Crozier will retire from coaching after 33 years at the team’s helm.
As the only coach of Cal Poly’s women’s soccer program, Crozier led the Mustangs to ten regular season conference championships, three Big West Tournament Titles, and six NCAA Tournament appearances.
He finishes his career with the most wins in the Big West all-time in conference play (129-71-31) and overall (325-233-70).
With such a drastic change coming for Cal Poly, the offseason coaching search is something to look forward to.