This story was posted at 1:15 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 18.
The Cal Poly men’s soccer team was defeated in double overtime 1-0 by No. 23 UC Santa Barbara on Friday at Alex G. Spanos Stadium in front of the third-largest crowd in regular-season NCAA men’s soccer history.
The game, which was broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel, was played to a scoreless deadlock after regulation and through the first overtime.
Forward Chris Pontius struck just 10 seconds into the second overtime, ending the match and sending the 11,075 in attendance home.
“The community was wonderful in their support of us,” Cal Poly head coach Paul Holocher said. “The student body was wonderful. A lot of these people came for the first time and it probably won’t be the last time.”
Cal Poly (8-4-2, 3-2 Big West Conference) was not without its chances early in the match. Wes Feighner had a goal disallowed in the eighth minute after an official called him for pushing off in the box after dribbling the ball past UC Santa Barbara goalkeeper Kristopher Minton.
“Obviously there was contact, but during the course of the game I thought there was a lot worse,” Feighner said.
Midway through the half, the Mustangs applied more pressure, with David Zamora’s header flying just over the crossbar in the 22nd minute. A minute later, Feighner had a shot from seven yards outside the box go over the bar.
“We were close; we had a couple of really good chances,” Holocher said. “There was a lot of good defending overall. A lot of the shots were contested and didn’t have a lot of power on them.”
The teams combined for 11 shots in a chippie first half highlighted by five fouls and a yellow card for each team. But the physicality carried over to the second half as well.
UC Santa Barbara midfielder Michael Tetteh was given a red card in the 87th minute after a questionable late tackle that left the Gauchos (8-4-2, 3-1-1 BWC) a man down for the rest of the match.
Holocher said that the red card may have made UC Santa Barbara more focused going into the overtime sessions.
“Sometimes teams play better a man down,” Holocher said. “I don’t think that was the result of the game. The game came down to one breakdown that we had and it cost us today.”
Taking the kickoff near to start the second overtime, the Gauchos stunned the sellout crowd as forward David Walker sent a cross to Pontius, who scissor-kicked in the game-winner past Cal Poly goalkeeper Eric Branagan-Franco for his 11th goal of the season.
“I was just trying to get the ball to Walker, trying to let him use his speed to our advantage,” Pontius said. “I wasn’t picked up because the play happened so fast. I got free in the box, and the ball on my foot and I put it away.”
While the result was not what the majority of the home crowd had hoped, its energy was not lost on the Mustangs.
“It is electrifying to be able to play in front of this many fans,” Feighner said. “You can’t really get tired with that many people out there watching you.”
Holocher agreed that the crowd was a big factor in renewing the Central Coast rivalry.
“It’s just a heated rivalry,” Holocher said. “They have a very good team.”
Branagan-Franco made 10 saves during the match, tying him for fourth-most in a single game in school history.
The teams will meet again Nov. 5 in Santa Barbara.
“We don’t lose that many games, and the ones we do, we feel really deeply,” Feighner said. “So we just want to get back out there and set it right.”
Cal Poly resumes Big West play at 7 p.m. Wednesday by hosting UC Irvine.