<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4XjCeB_0vjxGhQR00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4XjCeB_0vjxGhQR00" width="1920" height="1080" ><figcaption>Kyle Cajero</figcaption></figure><p>SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Riding high following a commanding 5-1 victory over Nevada on Senior Day, the Cal Poly women’s soccer team hits the road this week for a pair of Big West matches in Southern California.</p><p>First up is a trip to UC Riverside on Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. showdown with the Highlanders (2-8), then the Mustangs (2-6-2) cap the week with a visit to Cal State Fullerton on Sunday for a 2 p.m. match against the Titans (2-6-2). Both matches, along with all of Cal Poly’s matches this fall, can be seen live on <b>ESPN+.</b> You can find links to watch both matches and follow the live stats below and on the Cal Poly women’s soccer schedule page<b>.</b></p><ul><li>Thursday, 7:30 p.m. at UCR Soccer Stadium</li><li>In last year’s matchup with the Highlanders at Mustang Memorial Field, Annika Smith scored the eighth hat trick in program history to power Cal Poly to a decisive 3-1 victory over UCR.</li><li>In the Mustangs’ last trip to Riverside, McKenna Carbon found the back of the net in the 53rd minute to propel Cal Poly to a 1-0 win.</li><li>Cal Poly leads the all-time series 12-5-5, is unbeaten in its last five matches (4-0-1) against UCR and has won four straight. The Mustangs last lost in Riverside in 2016.</li><li>UC Riverside is 2-8 this season, earning a 1-0 victory at UTEP on Aug. 25 and a 1-0 home win over UNLV on Sept. 1. The Highlanders dropped their Big West opener at Long Beach State this past Sunday and will carry a four-match losing streak into Thursday’s matchup with the Mustangs.</li><li>UCR has only scored two goals this season with freshmen Mimi Dominguez and Nikki Velasco each netting one.</li><li>Freshman goalkeeper Christina Sidoti has started in net for the Highlanders the last two matches, recording 11 saves and a .733 save percentage while allowing four goals.</li></ul><ul><li>Sunday, 2 p.m. at Titan Stadium</li><li>Sunday will mark the 36th all-time meeting between Cal Poly and the Titans. The Mustangs lead the all-time series 17-12-6.</li><li>Last year in San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly outshot Cal State Fullerton 22-6, but fell 2-1, scoring its lone goal with 56 seconds left in the match.</li><li>In Cal Poly’s last trip to Fullerton in 2022, the two teams played to a scoreless draw.</li><li>CSUF heads to UC Davis at 4 p.m. Thursday before hosting the Mustangs and currently boasts the exact same record as Cal Poly. The Titans opened the season with back-to-back home victories over San Diego and Nevada, but hasn’t won a match since. In its Big West opener at CSUN on Sept. 19, CSUF earned a 1-1 draw.</li><li>The Titans are led by 2023 All-Big West Freshman of the Year Kaylee Noble, who has three goals and two assists this season.</li><li>In net, 2023 Big West Goalkeeper of the Year Mia Ranson has started between the pipes in every match and ranks second in the conference in goals against average (1.326), saves (55) and save percentage (.809).</li></ul><ul><li>Cal Poly bounced back from a 1-0 defeat to UC Santa Barbara to open Big West play with a dominant 5-1 victory over Nevada on Sunday. The Mustangs scored all five goals in the span of 32:49 minutes of game time in the second half to roll past the opposition.</li><li>Sophomore Annika Smith netted a brace in the match, scoring back-to-back goals 70 seconds apart in the final 2:05 of the match. It was Smith’s second brace of the season and her third career multi-goal match. Smith is currently third in the conference in goals (five) and points (10).</li><li>Senior Kate Reedy, junior Brennan Cole and sophomore Sophia Moness all scored goals in the victory as well. Reedy, an All-Big West Preseason Team selection, buried her second of the season, while Moness netted her first of the year. For Cole, it was her first collegiate goal.</li><li>Freshman Kiki Vostermans recorded her fourth assist of the season in the match, tied for the second most in the Big West this year.</li></ul><ul><li>Seven Mustangs have made their collegiate debut so far this season — redshirt freshman Ali Evans and Courtney Wagner, and freshmen Ashley Brewer, Avery Chaney, Lilly Cole, Lauren Collier and Kiki Vostermans.</li><li>Outside back Lauren Collier has started in two of the last three matches for the Mustangs.</li><li>Midfielder Kiki Vostermans has started in seven of Cal Poly's 10 matches.</li><li>Lilly Cole, the younger sister of junior midfielder Brennan Cole, has started in five matches for the Mustangs at outside back.</li><li>In total, 28 players have appeared in a match for the Mustangs this season.</li></ul><ul><li>Experience is something the Mustangs aren't lacking this fall. Cal Poly returns 26 letterwinners, 10 starters and 90 percent of its goal production from its 2023 team that advanced to the program’s ninth Big West Championship match, tied for the most all-time in conference history.</li><li>In total, the Mustangs boast 30 returners, the most of any team in Division I this season.</li><li>Cal Poly returns all seven of its All-Big West honorees from a year ago — senior defender Emma Brown, senior forward Kate Reedy, senior goalkeeper Mackenzie Samuel, junior defender Camryn Penn, redshirt sophomore midfielder Sophia Minnite, sophomore forward Annika Smith and sophomore midfielder Sophia Moness.</li><li>Cal Poly has 39 players on the team this season — tied for the second most in the nation — with only nine newcomers, eight freshmen and one transfer.</li></ul><ul><li>Seniors Kate Reedy and Emma Brown both earned a spot on the 11-player All-Big West Preseason Coaches Team, marking the first time since 2022 the program has had multiple players secure preseason honors.</li><li>For Reedy, this is her first time receiving All-Big West preseason accolades. Last year, the All-Big West Second Team honoree led the entire conference in game-winning goals (three), tied for the team lead in goals (five) and was second on the team in points (13).</li><li>Reedy, Cal Poly's super sub, scored her first goal of the season in a 2-1 home defeat to LMU on Sept. 5 and tallied her second of the year this past Sunday. She has 11 goals and three assists across her Cal Poly career.</li><li>Brown grabbed an All-Big West Preseason selection for the second straight season. The center back was also one of 26 players in Division I tabbed as a “Defender to Watch” by the United Soccer Coaches ahead of the 2024 season. Brown is the reigning Big West Defensive Player of the Year and started in all 21 matches for the Mustangs a year ago, playing every minute in 19 of them and racking up 1,837 total minutes on the pitch, the most on the team among field players.</li><li>This season, Brown has started in all 10 matches for the Mustangs and played all 90 minutes in eight of them. Entering Thursday's match against UC Riverside, Brown has started in 54 consecutive matches for the Mustangs and 67 of the 70 she has appeared in during her Cal Poly career, racking up over 5,925 minutes on the pitch without receiving a card.</li><li>Brown has played every minute in 58 matches during her Mustang career.</li></ul><ul><li>Cal Poly’s top seven point-getters from a year ago are all back this season, including Jessie Halladay who led the team in points with five goals and four assists. </li><li>In 2023, the Mustangs set a program record for players to record a point in a season (21) and matched a 27-year-old program record for goal scorers in a season (15).</li></ul><ul><li>Cal Poly will rely heavily on its experience-laden backline this season, as the team brings back three of its four starters from a year ago — center backs Aynsley Conner and Emma Brown and outside back Camryn Penn.</li><li>Between the three of them, the trio boasts 167 appearances and 159 starts across their Cal Poly careers.</li><li>Conner leads the team in minutes this season (875) and has played all 90 minutes in seven of 10 matches.</li><li>Brown and Conner are two of the Mustangs’ three captains this season, along with senior McKenna Carbon.</li></ul><ul><li>The Mustangs will have a little extra motivation on the pitch this fall as head coach Alex Crozier announced back in June that he will retire at the end of the 2024 season after 33 years at the helm. </li><li>The only head coach in the history of the Cal Poly women’s soccer program, Crozier has been named the Big West Coach of the Year a record six times and enters the 2024 season ranked 23rd nationally in career victories among active Division I head coaches and No. 42 all-time with a 321-223-67 overall record. </li><li>Crozier has led the Mustangs to 10 regular season conference championships, six NCAA Tournament appearances and three Big West Tournament titles, and he has the most career victories among Big West coaches all-time, both in conference play (127-66-30) and overall. </li><li>He is one of the longest active tenured women’s soccer head coaches in all of Division I and has coached long enough to mentor the daughters of some of his former players. </li><li>Cal Poly is seeking its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 20 years in Crozier’s final season this fall.</li></ul><ul><li>Junior outside back Camryn Penn has started in 46 matches across her Cal Poly career and tallied one goal and three assists.</li><li>Senior goalkeeper Mackenzie Samuel is currently No. 9 on Cal Poly's all-time list in career saves (171) and fifth in career starts (51) among goalkeepers. She ranks sixth in program history in career shutouts (17).</li><li>Junior Emily Lieber has three assists this season, tied for fifth in the Big West. She has 10 in her career.</li><li>Graduate student Whitney Wiley's goal against Pacific on Sept. 1 was her second as a Mustang and the 11th of her collegiate career. The Vienna, Virginia native transferred to Cal Poly last season after playing at New Hampshire from 2019-22.</li><li>Senior Emma Brown is currently tied for 12th in Cal Poly history in career matches started (67).</li></ul></div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Mustangs Head to Riverside, Fullerton for First Big West Road Matches

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Riding high following a commanding 5-1 victory over Nevada on Senior Day, the Cal Poly women’s soccer team hits the road this week for a pair of Big West matches in Southern California. First up is a trip to UC Riverside on Thursday...