Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer

The Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer program represents the Cal Poly Mustangs of California Polytechnic State University in men's soccer at the NCAA Division I level. Cal Poly is coached by former United States men's national team head coach Steve Sampson. Like most teams from Cal Poly, they play in the Big West Conference. The Big West Conference stopped sponsoring soccer in 1991 but resumed soccer in 2001. Over this period, Cal Poly competed in a regional conference called the MPSF. They have since returned to the Big West and as of 2019 have appeared in 2 NCAA tournaments, most recently in 2015. The Mustangs play in Alex G. Spanos Stadium (capacity of 11,075) on the campus of the California Polytechnic State University.

Cal Poly Mustangs
Men's Soccer
Founded1994 Division I
UniversityCalifornia Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo
Head coachSteve Sampson
ConferenceBig West
North Division
LocationSan Luis Obispo, CA
StadiumAlex G. Spanos Stadium
(Capacity: 11,075)
NicknameMustangs
ColorsForest Green, Vegas Gold, and Copper[1]
              
Home
Away
NCAA Tournament appearances
1995, 2008, 2015
Conference Tournament championships
None
Conference Regular Season championships
None

History

2007

In 2006, with Spanos Stadium still under construction Cal Poly plays its home soccer games at the Sports Complex,[2][3] north of the baseball and softball fields, now known as the turf fields. 2007 brought the completion of the renovation and expansion of Spanos Stadium and the ability to host larger crowds.[4]

With a new stadium, the Mustangs (8–1–1 record) defeated rival UCSB, the defending national champions, 2–1.[5]

2008

Posting the program's best record in 2008 (11–6–6), Cal Poly placed 3rd in the Big West and qualified for the NCAA Division I Tournament for the first time in the school's history. Cal Poly managed to upset #11 UCLA 1–0 to advance to the second round before losing 0–3 to #14 UC Irvine.

Cal Poly hosted a "Break the Attendance Record Night" for the 2008 edition of the Blue-Green Rivalry against 19th ranked UCSB.[6] With no precedent Cal Poly's Athletics department and Event staff were caught off guard. The official attendance of 11,075 not only broke the school record and the conference attendance record, but it was also the 2nd largest on-campus, regular-season attendance in NCAA history, and the largest in over 21 years.[7] 2008 saw the Big West Conference field 4 teams that were ranked in the NSCAA Top 25: Cal Poly, UC Davis, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Barbara.

Cal Poly games vs ranked opponents

  • 2–1 Win @ #23 New Mexico
  • 2–0 Loss @ #16 UC Davis
  • 0–1 2OT Loss vs #19 UCSB
  • 0–0 2OT Tie @ #17 UCSB
  • 1–2 Loss @ #19 UCLA
  • 2–2 2OT Loss in PKs @ #19 UCSB (Big West Playoffs)
  • 1–0 Win @ #11 UCLA (NCAA Tournament)
  • 0–3 Loss @ #14 UC Irvine (NCAA Tournament)[8][9]

2009

The Blue-Green rivalry returned to Cal Poly as UCSB was ranked #3 in the country. 9,824 fans attended the Wednesday gave vs UCSB. After this the Big West conference scheduled all Cal Poly vs UCSB games for a Friday, Saturday or Sunday night.[10]

2010

The 2010 season opener featured #17-ranked UCLA during the Cal Poly Week of Welcome orientation. Attendance was 8,717, the first attendance over 3,200 at the renovated Spanos stadium. The game ended in a 0–0 tie. UCLA has not returned to Cal Poly for a Friday or Saturday game since.[11]

The Blue-Green rivalry continued with #19 UCSB visiting Cal Poly on October 27, 2010. Attendance dropped to 8,125. Only the seniors had attended Cal Poly in 2007, the year of Cal Poly's last win. Fear of another scoreless tie ended with a first-half goal by Junior Burgos. UCSB responded with a tying goal. In overtime, Chris Gaschen scored the game-winning golden goal. Fans stormed the field for the first time since 2007. Cal Poly has sold out every game against UCSB since.[11]

2011

In 2011, collegesoccernews.com chose the Cal Poly vs UCSB soccer game as the #1 rivalry in college soccer.[12]

Cal Poly beat #13 UCSB in San Luis Obispo 2–1 in front of a sell-out crowd of 11,075.[13] Cal Poly men's soccer senior center back Patrick Sigler buried a 90th-minute penalty to hand the Mustangs a 2–1, come-from-behind triumph. Cal Poly trailed the Gauchos, 1–0, with 12 minutes to play until senior right-back Cameron Walters headed a corner kick in for a game-tying goal. UCSB has assessed 2 red cards in the final 26 seconds.[14]

2012 – Sweep of the Gauchos

Cal Poly swept the Gauchos, first winning 1–0 in front of a sell-out of 11,075 in San Luis Obispo. Cal Poly then completed the sweep defeating UCSB 2–1 in overtime. Cal Poly's George Malki scored with 64 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. Big West Conference Play of the Year, Mackenzie Pridham then scored the game-winning game in overtime. Cal Poly students stormed the field at Harder Stadium. The game was once again broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel.[15][16]

2015 – New head coach

In December 2014 Cal Poly hired former United States Men's National Soccer Team Head Coach Steve Sampson. Sampson led the US in the 1998 World Cup and also served as an assistant coach in the 1994 World Cup. He coached Santa Clara to the 1989 national championship and coached the LA Galaxy to the 2005 MLS Cup and the US Open Cup.[17]

Spanos Stadium

Entering the 2014 season, the Mustangs have produced a 42–15–10 mark and a 21–7–7 conference mark since the renovation and expansion of Spanos Stadium in 2007 including 23 shutouts and 25 clean sheets. Defending Spanos from the stands is one of the largest college fan bases in the country led by the Mustang Manglers. Cal Poly has sold out the 11,075 on numerous occasions the largest sellout crowd in the history of college soccer on-campus. In 2013, student tickets were distributed in advance for the first time.[18][19] The result was a sellout 2 days before the game against UCSB,[19] the first known sellout of a stadium of over 5,000 before gameday.

The atmosphere has been made famous by the passionate and massive student section. Students begin lining up over 3 hours before game-time in order the get the best seats. In 2012 the stadium reached capacity 45 minutes before kickoff. The result was students jumping fences to sneak in, climbing trees and buildings to get a view.[6][20] Those without a ticket are known to pack the outsides of the stadium trying to grab a piece of the view and a taste of the atmosphere. Victories over UCSB in 2010, 2011 and 2012 resulted in fans storming the field. In 2013 the attendances have expanded beyond the UCLA and UCSB games. Games against Harvard in 2012 and UC Riverside in 2013 filled the 3,480 seat west stands. Against San Francisco in 2013, fans were once again turned away as both the south stands were opened for the first time for a non-UCSB/UCLA game. These stands filled quickly. Without the staff to open the east stands, students were once again turned away.[21]

The result of the need to arrive early combined with the unique design of Spanos Stadium, placing students "on the railing" only feet from the sideline has created one of the top atmospheres in college soccer. Sharing the venue with Cal Poly's FCS division football team has created one of the finest venues in college soccer. Thanks to football, Spanos stadium features 8 skyboxes, a video screen and a new 2007 grandstand towering over California Blvd. In the spring of 2013 temporary bleachers were replaced with a permanent grandstand. Additionally, in 2013, in the older east side stands, front rows were removed to widen the field and add ADA seating.

The results of such great atmosphere and stadium design, Spanos Stadium was selected as the #1 Men's Soccer venue to check out by NCAA in 2011.[22]

Head Coach Paul Holocher's resignation

After 8 years as head coach, growing the Cal Poly soccer program from obscurity to one of the best college athletics venues in the county[22] Paul Holocher, announced on August 11, 2014 that he had resigned from his role to move to Hawai'i and serve as the Director of Development with Maui United Soccer Club.[23] In 8 seasons Holocher directed the Mustangs to a 72–60–25 record and 1 NCAA Tournament appearance, Cal Poly's second since joining Division 1 in 1996. Phil Ruskin, a second-year assistant coach, was promoted to be the interim head coach upon Holocher's departure.[24] Despite the sudden coaching change Cal Poly had upset AAC powerhouse North Carolina State 3–1 in North Carolina followed by a stunning tie vis #1 UCLA in Pasadena, CA. Furthermore, Cal Poly has started conference play by drawing #3 ranked UC Irvine 1–1 and defeating preseason division favorite Cal State Northridge 2–1.[25][26]

Before Holocher took over attendances was almost always under 1000. By 2008 Cal Poly hosted a sellout crowd of 11,075, shattering the school and conference attendance record, posting what was then the second-largest regular-season, on-campus, attendance in NCAA history.[7] Attendance records have continued to be broken as Cal Poly has continually been ranked in the top 5 nationally in average home attendance.[7][27][28][28] As a result of the boom in attendance Cal Poly has made national headlines. In 2011 Cal Poly's Alex G. Spanos Stadium was named the "Men's Soccer – College Venue you must check out"[22] In a 2010 New York Times article about the growth of college soccer, Cal Poly was the first school mentioned. "Eye-catching figures are popping up across the country for men’s games. Cal Poly has drawn crowds of more than 8,000 twice this season."[29] The rivalry between Cal Poly and UCSB has been called the biggest college soccer rivalry in the country by SoccerAmerica,[30] the "Greatest" by College Soccer News[12] and was mentioned in a 2011 NCAA article about rivalries.[31]

Attendance figures

With 9 home games in 2008, Cal Poly had 25,549 fans attend their games for an average of 2,839 fans/game.[32] In 2010 Cal Poly ranked 4th in average attendance with 3,013 per game over 8 games for a total of 24,100 including 8,717 against #17 UCLA which ended in a 0–0 tie and 8,125 in a 2–1 OT win against #19 UCSB [33]

Roster

As of January 10, 2020[34]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK  USA Gabe Penner
2 DF  NZL Jackson Brady
3 DF  USA Freeman Dwamena
4 FW  USA Reagan Rice
5 DF  ENG Josh Graham
6 DF  USA Andrew Forth
7 FW  USA JoeMack Leonardo
8 DF  USA Eddie Melgoza
9 FW  USA Sebastián Herrán
10 FW  USA Diego Alonso
11 MF  USA Robert Knights
12 MF  USA Kenneth Higgins
13 DF  USA Zack DiDonato
14 FW  USA Ángel de León
15 DF  USA Marc Bermúdez
17 GK  USA Jason Hernández
18 MF  USA Emmanuel Pérez
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 MF  USA Colin Hyatt
20 FW  USA Jacob Lindberg
22 GK  MEX Carlos Arce–Hurtado
23 FW  USA Gerardo Martínez
24 DF  USA Zak Elbekraoui
25 MF  USA Enrique Bustamante
26 DF  USA Daniel Klemm
29 DF  USA Rigas Rigopoulos
30 DF  USA Logan Thralls
31 FW  USA Matthew Bautista
32 FW  USA Noah Boettiger
35 DF  USA Andrew Robertson
36 DF  USA Luis Rodríguez
40 GK  USA Víctor Rodríguez
44 MF  AUS Creed McKinnon
99 FW  USA Spencer Held

Cal Poly men's soccer professionals

Players noted below, with years at Cal Poly in parentheses, have received at least one professional cap at any professional level in any country or have earned a senior international cap.

Cal Poly seasons (since 2001)
Season Conference Record Conference
Tourn. Pos.		 Overall Record Honours Top points[60] Top scorer[61]
Conference Pld. W L D Pos. Pld. W L D Natl.
Rank
2001 Big West 10 3 7 0 5th 19 4 13 1 NR
2002 Big West 10 1 9 0 6th 19 3 16 0 NR
2003 Big West 10 3 5 2 4th 19 7 8 4 NR
2004 Big West 10 3 6 1 5th 18 7 7 4 NR
2005 Big West 10 1 9 0 4th 20 6 14 0 NR[62]
2006 Big West 9 3 5 1 4th 19 7 8 4 NR[63] Julian Alvarez
Jose Garcia		 10 Jose Garcia 4
2007 Big West 12 6 2 4 3rd 19 11 4 4 NR[64] David Zamora 17 Julian Alvarez 7
Beginning with the 2008 season, the Big West Conference instituted a conference tournament to determine the winner of the NCAA automatic bid instead of awarding it to the regular season winner.
2008 Big West 10 5 2 3 2nd Semi-Finals 23 11 6 6 23[65] NCAA 2nd Round Julian Alvarez 17 David Zamora 8
2009 Big West 10 6 3 1 3rd Semi-Finals 21 8 11 2 NR[66] Big West Semifinal David Zamora 15 David Zamora 6
2010 Big West 10 5 3 2 3rd Semi-Finals 18 8 7 3 NR[66] Big West Semifinal David Zamora 14 David Zamora 5
2011 Big West 10 3 6 1 6th 18 6 9 3 NR[66] Kyle Montgomery 7 Kyle Montgomery 3
2012 Big West 10 6 3 1 3rd Semi-Finals 19 11 7 1 NR[66] Big West Semifinal Mackenzie Pridham 23 Mackenzie Pridham 11
2013 Big West 10 3 5 2 6th First-Round 21 10 9 2 NR[66] Mackenzie Pridham 31 Mackenzie Pridham 14

The Blue-Green rivalry
Main article: Blue–Green Rivalry

Chosen as the #1 "Greatest Rivalry In College Soccer" by CollegeSoccerNews.com, the main rival of the Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer team is the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team.[67] The rivalry is a part of the larger Blue–Green Rivalry, which encompasses all sports from the two schools. With both schools located on the Central Coast less than 100 miles apart, attendance has risen dramatically following the Gauchos' 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. The crowds of these games are record-setting and are among the highest regular season games in NCAA college soccer history.

Postseason

The Cal Poly Mustangs have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 1–3 through three appearances and have never advanced past the second round.[68]

Year Round Opponent Result
1995First RoundUCLAL 1–2
2008First Round
Second Round		UCLA
UC Irvine		W 1–0
L 0–3
2015First RoundUCLAL 0–2
gollark: The simplest way would be a vote, but that's kind of uncool.
gollark: Implementation detail, I'll work it out later.
gollark: ***MAKE ESOLANG***
gollark: <@319753218592866315> MAKE ESOLANG
gollark: Plus, I could spy on people's sessssionss more effectively.

References
  1. "Cal Poly Athletics Brand and Graphics Guidelines" (PDF). Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  2. "Cal Poly" (PDF). Gopoly.com. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  3. "Cal Poly" (PDF). Gopoly.com. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  4. http://static.psbin.com/d/7/tvoc8p7arz2m2s/2007_Cal_Poly_Men-s_Soccer_Media_Guide.pdf
  5. "2007 Big West Men's Soccer - Cal Poly". Bigwest.org. Archived from the original on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  6. jlauing (2013-10-23). "The rivalry: A history". Mustang News. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  7. http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_soccer_RB/2009/Attendance.pdf
  8. "2008 NCAA men's soccer tourney schedule/results". ESPN.com. 17 November 2008.
  9. http://www.bigwest.org/sports/msoccer/mediaguides/2009/09_MSocGuide.pdf
  10. "Men's Soccer Archives - Cal Poly". Gopoly.com. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  11. "Cal Poly - Cumulative Season Statistics - Cal Poly". Gopoly.com. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  12. http://www.collegesoccernews.com/index_files/Page2764.htm
  13. "Cal Poly - Cumulative Season Statistics - Cal Poly". Gopoly.com. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  14. "Sigler Penalty Gives Cal Poly 90th-Minute Win versus UC Santa Barbara - Cal Poly". Gopoly.com. 2011-10-14. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  15. "2012 Cal Poly Men's Soccer Schedule - Cal Poly". Gopoly.com. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  16. "Cal Poly - Cumulative Season Statistics - Cal Poly". Gopoly.com. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  17. "Steve Sampson Named Cal Poly Men's Soccer Head Coach". 4 December 2014.
  18. "Blue-Green Rivalry game tickets available now - Mustang News". 23 October 2013.
  19. "UC Santa Barbara soccer rivalry tickets sold out - Mustang News". 24 October 2013.
  20. "UPD arrests 12 at Blue-Green Rivalry game - Mustang News". 29 October 2013.
  21. "2013 Men's Soccer Media Guide".
  22. "College venues you have to check out". 23 October 2011. Archived from the original on 1 May 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  23. "Men's Soccer Head Coach Paul Holocher Resigns". 11 August 2014.
  24. "Cal Poly". Cal Poly.
  25. "2014 Cal Poly Men's Soccer Schedule". Cal Poly.
  26. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2017-01-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  27. http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_soccer_RB/2011/attend.pdf
  28. http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_soccer_RB/2014/attend.pdf
  29. Keh, Andrew (2 November 2010). "College Soccer Attendance Is Up, but Explanations Vary" – via NYTimes.com.
  30. "SoccerAmerica - Blue-Green Rivalry, college soccer's biggest rivalry 10/28/2010". www.socceramerica.com.
  31. "Rivalries come in all sizes". 16 October 2011. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  32. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2009-07-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  33. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-13. Retrieved 2017-08-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  34. https://www.gopoly.com/sports/msoc/2019-20/roster
  35. Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Junior Burgos". www.national-football-teams.com.
  36. "Salvadoran International Junior Burgos Returns To The SIlverbacks For Fall Season".
  37. "Cal Poly Men's Soccer Alumni in the Pros". 3 June 2016.
  38. "Colvey Earns First Full International Caps with New Zealand". 31 May 2016.
  39. "Kip Colvey".
  40. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-02-09. Retrieved 2018-07-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  41. "U.S. OPEN CUP MATCH RECAP - Portland Timbers 0, LA Galaxy 1". 29 June 2016.
  42. "Portland Timbers 2 - 2016 Regular Season - Roster - #33 - Wade Hamilton - GK". www.uslsoccer.com.
  43. "Wade Hamilton".
  44. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2018-07-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  45. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-06-05. Retrieved 2016-06-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  46. https://www.nashvillesc.com/news_article/show/920063
  47. "Ariel Lassiter".
  48. "LA Galaxy sign forward Ariel Lassiter to first-team contract". 5 March 2016.
  49. https://www.mlssoccer.com/players/george-malki
  50. "Patrick McLain".
  51. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-01-09. Retrieved 2018-07-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  52. "Steve Palacios".
  53. "Steve Palacios". Cal Poly.
  54. "Portland Timbers 2 - 2016 Regular Season - Roster - #51 - Steve Palacios - D". www.uslsoccer.com.
  55. "Anton Peterlin". Soccer Banter.
  56. ::., .:: chastroD. "PETERLIN SETTLING IN AT WALSALL".CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  57. Prentice, David (3 July 2009). "Royal Blue: Everton FC signing Anton Peterlin is living the American dream".
  58. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-06-05. Retrieved 2016-06-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  59. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2018-07-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  60. In NCAA scoring, goals count as 2 points while assists count as one point.
  61. Goals in all competitions (regular season, Conference, and NCAA Tournament) are counted.
  62. NSCAA/adidas National Rankings Division I Final Post-Season Ranking Poll Archived 2010-01-03 at the Wayback Machine From http://www.nscaa.com Archived 2012-04-08 at WebCite, Posted 13 December 2005.
  63. NSCAA/adidas National Rankings Division I Final Post-Season Ranking Poll Archived 2009-09-22 at the Wayback Machine From http://www.nscaa.com Archived 2012-04-08 at WebCite, Posted 05 December 2006.
  64. NSCAA/adidas National Rankings Division I Final Post-Season Ranking Poll Archived 2009-09-21 at the Wayback Machine From http://www.nscaa.com Archived 2012-04-08 at WebCite, Posted 19 December 2007.
  65. Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine From http://www.nscaa.com Archived 2012-04-08 at WebCite, Posted 16 December 2008.
  66. NSCAA/adidas National Rankings Division I Final Post-Season Ranking Poll Archived 2010-01-03 at the Wayback Machine From http://www.nscaa.com Archived 2012-04-08 at WebCite, Posted 17 November 2009.
  67. "The Fourteen Greatest Rivalries In College Soccer". www.collegesoccernews.com/. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  68. "Division I Men's Soccer Championships Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.