They may be young, but they’re winning
The Cal Poly men’s soccer team (5-2-0) won its fifth consecutive match on Friday night with a 2-1 victory over the Harvard Crimson in Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
“They’re a quality team,” seventh-year head coach Paul Holocher said. “This was a big game to have here.”
The two teams began the match with no score until the 27th minute, when Harvard forward Zack Wolfenzon sent the ball flying into the net, putting the Crimson up 1-0.
Cal Poly answered in the second period. Forward Ian Clark received a feed from junior midfielder George Malki and fired a shot past the Harvard goalkeeper into the bottom left corner of the net, bringing the Mustangs even at 1-1.
“I just hit it as hard as I could,” Clark said. “ The game plan is the same no matter what. It’s always play possession while going forward and trying to get chances.”
It wasn’t until a goal by Chris Bernardi — a redshirt junior from Livermore, Calif. — that the Mustangs took their first lead of the game. Bernardi, after scoring two goals against Army the last week, drove freshman Chase Minter’s assist into the top left corner of the goal.
“Our main theme was to not play their game, but to stay together as a unit,” Bernardi said. “And we did it.”
With the victory over Harvard, the Mustangs look onward to hosting No. 12 UCLA (4-1-2) on Sunday, Sept. 23 at 4 p.m. A win would give the Mustangs a program-record sixth straight victory.
Holocher said he is preparing his squad for its Big West Conference schedule, which starts against Cal State Fullerton on Sept. 28. However, the team is taking it one game at a time.
“(UCLA) is a massive game,” Holocher said. “You’ve got two teams that really know how to pass the ball. If you’re a soccer fan or a sports fan, you’re in to see a fantastic game. Our team is very young, so every game we just want to improve. And each game, they’re growing.”