Lauren RabainoMonday’s Cal Poly weekly athletics press conference featured the apprehension of Cal Poly football, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and cross country teams.
Prominent topics included the Oct. 20 tie of the men’s soccer’s team with UC Irvine and Mustang football’s 48-35 loss to South Dakota State.
Cal Poly football is currently 4-3, 1-1 in the Great West.
“We managed to make some yards on offense and score some points but we still don’t get the best of it physically in the interior line,” football head coach Rich Ellerson said.
“Defensively we get pushed around. We can survive getting pushed around a little bit . we can finesse a few things on offense but you don’t finesse losing the turnover battle against a good team by two,” he said. “You don’t survive having the opening kick returned for a touchdown, and other kicks set up to put them in scoring position, kick the ball into the back of somebody’s head and a sundry of other things. Maybe the single worst special teams performance since I’ve been here.”
Ellerson identified the upcoming close of the season and the focus needed for approaching games, including the Oct. 27 game at Idaho State (3-4, 2-3 Big Sky).
“We can’t worry about what just happened, we have to worry about what’s going to happen on this next play.We need to stay in the moment, especially for these seniors, they’re going to turn around three or four more times and then the season will be over. And for most of those guys, that means football’s over. Something that’s been a huge part of our lives is about to be gone. The good news is redemption is right around the corner on Saturday.”
The Cal Poly men’s soccer team (9-1-2, 4-0-2 Big West) beat UC Santa Barbara 2-1, Oct. 17. The game lead to previously unranked Cal Poly being No. 15 in the Soccer America poll.
“(UCSB’s) a very physical team. They’re national champions, they know how to win, they play hard, they compete hard. Every time you play them it’s going to be a physical battle, and you just have to match that,” head coach Paul Holocher said.
Last Saturday the Mustangs tied UC Irvine 1-1.
“That’s back-shelf stuff now. We’ve got to focus on the next game,” Holocher said.
Men’s soccer will be playing UC Riverside Saturday at 7 p.m. at Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
The Cal Poly women’s volleyball team (14-7, 8-1 Big West) recently accomplished a win against Long Beach State that earned them first place in Big West standings, and recognition of junior opposite Kylie Atherstone.
Atherstone received her fourth Conference Player of the Week honor after a career-high 30-kill performance.
“It was such a great win. Our whole team really came together at the end. It was one of the funnest matches I’ve ever played in, it was so exciting. I still have adrenaline in my body from that game,” Atherstone said.
“Being in first place is great but it doesn’t change what we do. And what we do is try to get better every single time we practice and lately we’ve been doing that,” assistant coach Mike Johnson said.
The Mustang volleyball team will play a home game against University of the Pacific (UOP) on Friday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m.
UOP is the only team the Mustangs have lost to in the Big West conference.
The last four games for Cal Poly women’s soccer have left the team with a 5-8-1 overall record, 3-1-0 Big West.
“Every game’s big right now. Our team’s always been upbeat even when the record was down and now it’s starting to pay off for them,” head coach Alex Crozier said.
The Mustangs will play a Big West Conference home game against UC Davis on Friday Oct. 26 at 7 p.m.
“Like I told my players a month ago, ‘Just imagine yourself climbing out of this hole and holding the Big West Championship trophy at the end of the year,'” Crozier said.
The Cal Poly cross country team will participate in the Big West Conference Championships Oct. 27.
“We postured ourselves well at the pre-national meet as a good catalyst towards what lies ahead,” head coach Mark Conover said.
Conover expects a substantial number of spectators for the Saturday conference event.
“It’s neat for the team (to have the conference locally) because it’s nice to avoid a weekend of travel and the team can have even more friends and family . come out and support them. I think it’s a great motivator,” Conover said.
The men’s team is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. The women’s team is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m.