Ryan ChartrandFor the second year in a row, the Cal Poly men’s soccer team’s leading scorer hasn’t been a seasoned, wise, senior. It hasn’t been a junior turning the corner to stardom, nor even a sophomore providing promising glimpses into the future.
Indeed, Mustangs defender Patrick Sigler, the 2005 California Gatorade Player of the Year who redshirted last year, is a freshman – just like forward David Zamora was in 2007 when he had a team-high 17 points.
“We like to say there’s no ‘class’ on our team,” Sigler said. “If you’re a freshman, you’re a freshman. It doesn’t matter and you’re not treated differently.”
That kind of open-mindedness allowed not only for his opportunity, but also others’.
“David Zamora gave freshmen hope they can come into a college atmosphere and be successful right away, and that they can have as much success as he did last year,” Sigler added. “We all know it’s not impossible for freshmen to become starters.”
Cal Poly head coach Paul Holocher certainly doesn’t seem to care what year Sigler’s in.
“Patrick has done phenomenal for us,” Holocher said. “He’s definitely going to be up for contention for Big West (Conference) Freshman of the Year.”
Zamora won that distinction a year ago.
Sigler – whose nine points, four goals and .400 shooting percentage are all team highs – isn’t the only new face making an immediate impact for the Mustangs (4-2-1), though.
Of Cal Poly’s 38 points through seven contests, 16 have been tallied by freshmen – who’ve scored seven of 13 goals.
“Each year we hope to bring in top players and so far we’re picking some good ones,” Holocher said.
Year classification aside, 16 different Mustangs have taken shots. Six have contributed at least four points, and Saturday’s 3-0 win over Evansville (which entered ranked No. 21 by Soccer Times) featured three different scorers – Zamora, junior midfielder Jose Garcia and freshman forward Wes Feighner.
“I think that’s going to be our strength, playing 15 to 20 guys a game – and they’re all contributing,” Holocher said. “There are some teams out there that play 13, 14 guys and we’re just not that program. We tend to get more numbers in there.”
While the Mustangs’ offensive flurry has been steady, their defense – which posted 10 shutouts in 19 games in 2007 – has been somewhat erratic early, uncharacteristically blanking just Air Force before Evansville.
“We feel like we’re a team that can produce a shutout each game,” Holocher said. “We only have two shutouts out of seven games, which is kind of unlike our team.”
Cal Poly will get another chance to test its defense when it hosts Cal State Bakersfield in Alex G. Spanos Stadium at 7 tonight.
“They combine very well, they pass very well, they’ve got good team speed,” Holocher said of the Roadrunners (2-6), who’ve played all of their games on the road, and lost four of them by just one goal apiece. “They’re gritty, they’re hard and they’re tough.”
The Mustangs, who visit Sacramento State (5-1-1) at 1 p.m. Sunday, are yet to win twice consecutively and are still looking to establish their rhythm before entering Big West play Oct. 1.
Cal State Bakersfield has “very good size” and will likely press the Mustangs, Sigler said.
UC Irvine (6-0-2) rests atop the Big West – which Holocher called “clearly the strongest conference in the West” – followed by UC Davis (6-1), which is led by 10 seniors. Cal Poly is third.
“I don’t feel like we’re firing on all cylinders at all,” Holocher said. “I think that we can improve our passing and we can improve our defending.”
Sigler agreed.
“These two games are really big to give us momentum leading into the Big West,” he said. “I feel like just now in the last game or two we’ve been starting to play better, and up to our potential.”