Cal Poly men’s soccer dropped their home opener to Houston Baptist by a score of 4-2 on Monday, Sept. 5 inside Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
It was an aggressive game from both sides, as the Mustangs (0-4) and the Huskies (1-1-2) were both in search of their first win of the season.
Both teams came out applying pressure on the offensive end, and Cal Poly senior forward Max Kleinhammes gave the Mustangs an early 1-0 lead with a goal in the 15th minute of play.
However, the Huskies responded quickly with a goal of their own in the 18th minute to knot the score at 1-1.
The Mustangs came right back and answered with yet another goal to take a 2-1 advantage, this one in the 22nd minute, by freshman midfielder Richie Garcia, the first of his career.
The flurry of action continued when Houston Baptist tied the game up again in the 27th minute, bringing it to 2-2. Before the end of the half, the Huskies netted one more goal to take a 3-2 lead into the break.
After the second half started like the first with plenty of aggression, Houston Baptist scored their third unanswered goal in the 58th minute to bring the score to 4-2.
Cal Poly continued their efforts to claw back with seven shots in the second half, but none found the back of the net as they fell by the final score of 4-2 in their first home match.
The Mustangs will continue their search for their first win of the season against the University of San Francisco on Monday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. inside Nogoesco Stadium.