A year removed from finishing in the bottom half of the Big West standings, Cal Poly wasn’t expected to be anywhere near the conference championship game. Predicted to finish sixth in the preseason coaches’ poll, the Mustangs (10-2-9, 6-2-2 Big West) silenced any doubts as they claimed the 2025 Big West Championship at Matador Field in Northridge, Calif.
In just 12 conference and postseason matches, Cal Poly rerouted their 2025 season into a remarkable run, smashing their sixth place projection and coming out on top of the conference.
Sunday’s win sealed their first Big West Championship in 21 years, defeating defending champions UC Santa Barbara in a contested 1-0 victory. With the win, the Mustangs kept their season alive and gained an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Having lost to the Gauchos (13-4-6, 5-2-3 Big West) at the beginning of conference play, it was imperative that the Mustangs made adjustments to change the scoreline the second time around.
“Coming off of our recent history against Santa Barbara, I think everyone was pretty hungry and eager to prove our dominance and how much we have grown throughout the season,” redshirt junior Sophia Minnite said.
The first half of the Blue-Green rivalry rematch was a defensive showcase, but momentum shifted in the second half as the Cal Poly offense turned the dial up a notch as they fought to find the defining moment of the match.
The breakthrough goal that sealed the victory for the Mustangs did not come until the 88th minute of the match when Halladay finally found the back of the net with a shot from the center of the box. The assist was credited to junior forward Annika Smith and sophomore defender Ava Mirelez.
“After those chances, I was like, the next one’s going in it, I believe it 100% that I’m going to be in the right spot. And I think I blacked out,” Halladay said.
Going into the postseason, Halladay had been in a scoring drought, having not hit one inside the frame since a 2-2 draw against Cal State Bakersfield – a game played on Oct. 2, more than a month prior.
Once her number got called upon during the semifinal match to score the game-winning penalty kick against Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 6, Halladay did not look back.
Halladay scored both game-winning goals in the Big West tournament for Cal Poly this postseason, earning herself the Big West Championship MVP honor. Halladay finished the tournament with nine goals on the season, the most of any player in the Big West.
She will look to continue this hot streak as Cal Poly enters the NCAA tournament.
Head Coach Bernardo Silva knew that tactical adjustments had to be made in order for Cal Poly 2.0 to come out victorious. He relied on a strong scouting report to ensure history did not repeat itself.
“It is a final with two different styles of play and two different identities,” Silva said. “It is about the finest of margins in our conference.”
Silva has proven himself to be the right match for the Mustangs this year, taking a team that finished in ninth last season and turning them into champions.
“Since Bernardo joined us in January, we had this goal, and we set out, and we did everything in our ability to get to this moment,” Minnite said.
This is the second consecutive season in a row that Silva has taken a team from the bottom of the table a year prior and led them to a Big West Championship final. He did it with CSU Bakersfield in 2024, who finished eighth the year before. This is Silva’s first Big West Championship win.
His green and gold squad has hit multiple milestones this year, including earning both Big West Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors for the first time in program history among six All-Big West honors.
With only two losses this season and a current two match winning streak, Cal Poly will look to add to their accomplishments in this historic season as their season will continue on the national stage in the NCAA tournament.
“We are so extremely proud and excited, and we are not done. Wherever the NCAA chooses to send us, we’ll scout, we will respect the opponent, and we will be prepared for whoever and to represent the Big West on the national stage,” Silva said.