Every year, the biggest crowds in college soccer aren’t at the national championships. They don’t flock to the highest ranked teams in the nation. They don’t even belong to Power Four schools.
That’s because every year, the biggest crowds in college soccer are at Mustang Memorial Field for the Blue-Green rivalry.
In 2024, nearly 10,000 fans came to life as Cal Poly defeated UC Santa Barbara at home. The match broke attendance records and at the end of the season, Cal Poly won their first Big West Regular Season title in program history by one point over the Gauchos.
This year, the margins are even slimmer. The Mustangs will defend their home field against the Gauchos this weekend, and just one point separates No. 4 Cal Poly (5-4-5, 2-1-2) and No. 3 UC Santa Barbara (4-4-6, 2-0-3).
“We saw it last year, didn’t we? It came down to the last couple of minutes,” head coach Oige Kennedy said. “When you only play a team once in a season, for the most part, it’s going to be real fine margins as to who gets on top at the end of it.”
Excluding postseason matchups, Big West opponents only have one chance per season to take down each conference opponent. At least, that’s the usual schedule.
Back for the second time
Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara’s rivalry is so impactful that every year, both teams get a home matchup for their fans to enjoy. Only the second matchup – the one being held in San Luis Obispo this year – counts towards the Big West standings.
So while last year’s matchup at Mustang Memorial Field played a crucial role in continuing the team’s nine-game undefeated streak, the 2025 game holds infinitely more significance for the conference standings.
Cal Poly’s 2024 home victory in the Blue-Green rivalry came in the midst of a program-record 13-match unbeaten streak at Mustang Memorial Field.
The team’s dominance in San Luis Obispo has been a result of many factors, ranging from tactical changes to field size. However, the defining factor of Cal Poly’s home is the hostile atmosphere it forces on any opponent visiting the stadium.
“Knowing that you have 10,000 people behind you, it feels amazing,” senior defender Nico Baltazar said. “Every little play, you have people celebrating for you, so it gets you even more riled up.”
Over the past 17 years, the Blue-Green rivalry has filled out Mustang Memorial Field with over 10,000 fans 12 times. Out of the top 50 highest attended matchups in NCAA Men’s Soccer history, 28 are Blue-Green Rivalry matchups.
Crowd presence at both sites has been a core part of the rivalry, and traditions among each fanbase have arisen over the years.
One main aspect of Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara’s matchups have been the addition of tortillas thrown onto the field from the crowd.
While the tradition was initially tolerated, flying frisbees of dough quickly became a distraction, disrupting play and forcing additional staff to stop matches to clean the field.
Cal Poly Athletics have since tightened their policies, and for the past few years tortillas have been strictly not allowed into the stadium. The match also has a clear bag policy, and anyone throwing anything onto the field will be thrown out, according to the athletics department.
Even with the restrictions, Cal Poly fans have continued to bring an electric energy to Mustang Memorial Field, and all of the attention can be focused on the game itself.
On-field approach
As two of the very few teams to match up twice per year, Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara are also both able to shift their strategies after the first matchup of the year.
“You’ve got to get the balance of kind of predicting what you can do against the opponent and where the strengths are, but then also leaning into your identity and what you’re good at,” Kennedy said.
The Mustangs are undefeated against the Gauchos for the past two years, most recently drawing against their Central Coast rival in Santa Barbara earlier this season.
Defense has been central to Cal Poly’s success, as they’ve held UC Santa Barbara scoreless in each of their last three matches.
“The emphasis on the entire team has been getting all 10 men behind the ball,” 2024 Big West Defender of the Year Parker Owens said. “It can’t just be the back line. It can’t just be the midfielders, it can’t just be the defenders, can’t just be Nicky making stops.”
Mustang Memorial Field’s specific characteristics play into Cal Poly’s on field approach as well. The smaller dimensions of the pitch allow the Mustang’s high-energy press to hold opposing teams in their own half, with the stifling defense often forcing mistakes and leading to chances on the offensive side.
“We have to kind of adjust our press in terms of playing away at their place,” Owens said. “But when you come here, we get to play our style, which is very unique to our field.”
Match details
Leading up to the match, Cal Poly is coming off of a tie at Sacramento State, while a draw from UC Santa Barbara propelled them to third in the Big West, one point and one position ahead of the Mustangs in the standings.
Cal Poly vs. UC Santa Barbara is set for Saturday, Oct. 18 at 4 p.m. on ESPN+. The match is a blackout, with all attendees encouraged to wear black to match Cal Poly’s uniforms for the afternoon.
Tickets to the matchup are free for all Cal Poly students, who are encouraged to come to match wearing black. Tickets for all other attendees can be found at GoPoly.com.
