For the first time in nearly two weeks, Cal Poly Men’s Soccer were able to etch a “W” next to an opponent’s name in their schedule after narrowly toppling UC Riverside on Oct 22.
The Mustangs (7-5-5, 4-2-2 Big West) moved up in the Big West standings after a goal early in the second half led Cal Poly to a 1-0 victory over the Highlanders (3-8-4, 1-5-1 Big West), who remain near the bottom of the conference, tied in points with Sacramento State.
Balanced Offensive Attack
Prior to entering conference play, Cal Poly had relied on two primary goal-scorers in redshirt sophomore midfielder Quinn Mahoney and freshman defender Tanner Casey. Since then, head coach Ogie Kennedy has turned to a balanced offensive attack, relying on unproven offensive players to propel them to success within the conference.
This trend continued through Wednesday’s game in which the Mustangs carried a 1-0 lead, provided by junior defender Joaquin Torres’ first goal of the season early in the second half of the game.
Of the five conference games Cal Poly has played resulting in either a tie or a win, this was the fourth in which a Mustang’s first goal of the season kicked off the scoring of that particular outing.
Of the four games in which that has occurred, a Mustang’s first goal was also the only score Cal Poly was able to manufacture in three of those matches. The sole exception was the Big West opener against UC Davis, in which the Mustangs notched a second score later on.
In addition to spreading the wealth of goal-scoring across the team, the shots taken against the Highlanders were also spread throughout Cal Poly’s roster as well. Eight different Mustangs fired at least one shot for 11 total shots taken throughout the match, though only three of the 11 were on target, forcing UCR goalkeeper Andrew Hermosillo to make two saves prior to allowing the game-winning goal.
Another Clean Sheet
Senior goalkeeper Nicky McCune, on the other hand, was impenetrable. McCune recorded his seventh clean sheet of the season – the second highest amount of shutouts by a goalie in the Big West this season.
McCune notched four total saves in the match, the second time he has recorded four saves in a match in his last three games before UC Riverside.
Having faced and saved four shots throughout the 90 minutes of play, McCune raised his season save percentage to .770, good enough for second in the Big West.
Overcoming Injury
The defense in front of McCune was just as dominant, despite facing injuries to two key players. Both redshirt sophomore midfielder Rylan Firouznam and junior defender and captain Parker Owens went down in their previous matchup against UC Santa Barbara.
The Mustangs quickly patched the holes left in the defense by the absence of Owens and Firouznam. Cal Poly limited the offensive opportunities of UCR, allowing only one corner kick in each half – stifling any opportunities the Highlanders may have produced through set pieces.
UCR is also a shot-driven team, recording, on average, 12.27 shots per game but the Mustangs’ defense limited the Highlanders to a below-than-average evening, allowing only 10 shots on Wednesday’s match.
Cal Poly only has one match remaining in the regular season. On Sunday, they punched their ticket to the Big West Tournament in a win against CSUN, with only the top six seeds in the conference eligible to contend.
The Mustangs’ final match of the season will come against CSU Bakersfield on Saturday, Nov. 1. The match will kick off at 7 p.m.