Conference play begins this upcoming weekend for Cal Poly’s two soccer teams, while three other athletic programs will also square off against opponents between Thursday and Sunday.
The men’s soccer team (5-2-1) opens Big West Conference play to begin the weekend, traveling to Cal State Northridge on Thursday. The Matadors began the season 4-3-1 and are on a three-game winning streak. The Mustangs will look to stifle the Matadors and extend their own winning streak to three games.
Later in the week, men’s soccer travels once again to UC Irvine to take on the Anteaters (2-5-2) that are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss at UCLA.
Women’s soccer also opens conference play over the weekend. Senior forward Elise Krieghoff, fresh off her conference-record ninth Big West Conference Player of the Week honors, leads the Mustangs (4-2-5) against UC Davis (7-3-1) on Thursday in Davis. The Aggies enter the match on a two-game winning streak.
On Sunday, women’s soccer heads to Hawaii (3-6-1) for a late-night matchup against the Rainbow Wahine.
Volleyball hosts two home matches this week, one on Friday and one on Saturday. The Mustangs (8-4, 0-1 Big West) look to pick up their first Big West Conference win of the season on Friday as they take on No. 24 Long Beach State at 7 p.m. in Mott Athletics Center. Long Beach State comes to San Luis Obispo having won 10 of its last 11 matches, getting them into the Top 25 nationwide.
Following Friday’s hosting of Long Beach State, volleyball also plays host to Cal State Northridge (3-11, 2-0 Big West) on Saturday. The match will also be held in Mott Athletics Center and begins at 4 p.m.
Men’s swimming and diving, which is coming off last weekend’s strong performance at the Cal Poly Invitational, will host USC on Saturday at 11 a.m. USC finished last season ranked No. 11 in the country.
The Cal Poly football team (1-3, 0-1 Big Sky) looks to rebound from three consecutive losses as it plays host to Idaho State at Alex G. Spanos Stadium on Saturday. This weekend’s game begins at 6:05 p.m. and features the annual Cal Poly Hall of Fame ceremony at halftime.
The Mustangs enter into an easier part of their schedule after beginning the year facing three Top 25 FCS teams and an FBS team. Idaho State began the year with a convincing 55-0 victory over Black Hills State University, but has since gone 0-3 and has been outscored 22-166 in those three games.