The Cal Poly men’s soccer team stands one win away from capturing its first Big West Conference regular-season title in the program’s 15-year history at the Division I level.
Cal Poly, which is ranked 30th in the latest College Soccer News poll and upset No. 11 UC Davis 2-0 on Sunday, can do just that by defeating No. 19 UC Santa Barbara at 7 tonight in Santa Barbara.
“There’s a bit of history on the line for Cal Poly soccer, if we can go down and get a win,” Mustangs head coach Paul Holocher said.
A victory would also give the Mustangs (10-4-4, 5-2-2) home field advantage throughout the first-ever Big West Tournament.
The teams’ last meeting, which was witnessed Oct. 17 by a crowd of 11,075 – college men’s soccer’s third-largest ever in the regular season – was taken by the Gauchos, 1-0 seconds into the second overtime.
UCSB (10-5-2, 5-2-1), however, lost at home 3-1 to No. 14 UC Irvine on Saturday and has 16 points in the Big West standings, one behind conference-leading Cal Poly.
The winner of the conference tournament earns an automatic bid to the College Cup.
Big West considerations aside, the Mustangs will have an opportunity to solidify their case for a national postseason appearance with their regular-season finale at No. 23 UCLA at 7 p.m. Saturday.
“We’re in a position that we like,” Holocher said.