Seventy-five minutes of play and tension culminated in one moment, as Jessie Halladay placed the ball for her penalty kick. She took three steps back, then buried her shot in the bottom left corner of the next.
This moment turned out to be the game deciding goal that sent Cal Poly (9-2-9, 6-2-2 Big West) to the Big West Championship for the tenth time in team history and third time in the last five seasons.
This advancement came in a 1-0 victory over Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 6. Despite both teams’ efforts, the game remained scoreless through the first half and a majority of the second.
Cal Poly outshot Fullerton four to three in the first half and three to two in the second half. Their offense pushed hard, but were not able to score off of Fullerton’s Isaac Ranson, the Big West Goalkeeper of the Year, who recorded three saves during the semi-final.
While the Mustang offense was unable to get the scoring going, their defense kept them in the game. A large part of this effort came from the defense’s anchor freshman goalkeeper Shannon Porubski, who kept Cal Poly in the game with three saves. One of these saves came in minute 87 against Fullerton’s last ditch effort to stay alive.
In her freshman season, Porubski has been a difference maker in Cal Poly’s Big West Championship run, having been the goalkeeper in all nine of Cal Poly’s victories following a promotion to starter earlier in the season.
Halladay’s game-winning penalty came following the review of a foul against her inside the box in minute 75. A goal off a penalty kick seemed inevitable in Thursday’s intense match, with both teams racking up a combined 19 fouls. With the kick, Halladay now leads the Big West in goals and points, with eight and 20 respectively.
Now Cal Poly looks to win their fourth championship title, having previously won in 1996, 2003 and 2004. They will face off against Big West rivals, the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, on Sunday, Nov. 9 at 1 p.m.
The two faced off once before on Sept. 18, where the Gauchos beat the Mustangs 3-1 at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara. This time, the Blue-Green rivalry match will take place on neutral ground at CSUN’s home stadium as Cal Poly looks to secure their first Big West Championship in 21 years.