There’s almost no way to predict them.
Ten of the past 11 matches in the Blue-Green Rivalry have been decided by one goal, and disregarding UC Santa Barbara’s 2-0 victory over Cal Poly to close the 2011 season, the last time a Cal Poly-UC Santa Barbara matchup was decided by more than one goal was a 3-1 win by the Gauchos in 2007.
And with late-game heroics becoming a theme in recent matchups — such as Mackenzie Pridham’s game-winning goal against UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 19 — there’s only one way to describe what people are calling “one of the best rivalries in collegiate soccer.”
Unpredictable.
So as Cal Poly gears up to take on UC Santa Barbara this Saturday in Alex G. Spanos Stadium, the Mustangs and Gauchos will be aiming for the unexpected in the latest installment of the rivalry.
“There is a lot of passion around this game,” head coach Paul Holocher said. “The fans are passionate. The games have always been exciting. It’s a treat for everybody in the Central Coast and people around the country. It’s an amazing rivalry.”
The atmosphere may be what sets the rivalry apart most of all. Tortillas, empty tequila bottles and rowdy students seem to seep their way into every rivalry.
Tortilla throwing became a popular tradition around 2008, when UC Santa Barbara fan Andrew Schmedake sent a letter to the editor to the Daily Nexus, the Gauchos’ student newspaper, telling UCSB fans to “go crazy in the Loco section and throw tortillas when (the Gauchos) score.”
That same year, several bottles were thrown onto the field at Alex G. Spanos Stadium, stopping play on several occasions. The actions came under harsh scrutiny of Holocher, but haven’t been a problem since Cal Poly’s 1-0 loss to UC Santa Barbara in 2008.
However, for the most part, the crowd sizes have remained the same. Of the top 25 most attended soccer matchups in NCAA history, 10 of them highlight rivalry games between the Gauchos and Mustangs. The two teams drew the rivalry’s biggest crowd — 13,822 spectators — in 2011, which was more than four times larger than the capacity of Mott Gym.
Earlier this year, more than 13,000 fans, the seventh-largest crowd, packed the gates of Harder Stadium during Cal Poly’s matchup against the Gauchos, and while capacity at Alex G. Spanos Stadium is 11,075, the Mustangs are expecting that type of turnout this weekend.
“It’s definitely a special rivalry,” Pridham said. “As everyone knows, it’s probably the biggest (rivalry) in Division I college soccer. But we’ve just got to stick to what we want to do, put the hype aside and play our game. We need to focus on what we’ve prepared all season.
“It’s going to be a battle out there; we know that,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to preform for our fans.”
The last time the two team’s met, Pridham sent a ball into the net just six minutes into the extra period to give Cal Poly its first win at Harder Stadium since 1998. Pridham helped the Mustangs overcome a 1-0 deficit through 88 minutes of the match, and furthered what has been a standout season for Pridham.
He became just the third player in program history to reach double-digit goals in a season last weekend and was the first since Clay Harty scored 10 in 1996. His success, though, is reflective of the entire team, which Pridham attributes to changes the Mustangs made this offseason.
“We’ve brought a lot of new things into the program this year that haven’t been there in the past,” Pridham said. “That’s helped us and has been a part of our success this year.”
The Mustangs are hoping they can continue that success this weekend against UC Santa Barbara.
“This team’s capable of beating anybody on any given day,” Holocher said. “There’s a lot of passion around this game, and the fans are passionate. The games have always been amazing, exciting games.”
For UC Santa Barbara fans, the Mustangs’ celebration of rushing the field at Harder Stadium following Pridham’s heroics wasn’t exciting. They’re hoping the Gauchos are going to pull off the win this weekend, and celebrate appropriately, UC Santa Barbara freshman Nathan Bills said.
“Storming our field was classless,” Bills said. “It’s our field and only Gauchos can storm it. Cal Poly fans should act like they’re used to winning, and not pull these amateur-hour stunts. On Nov. 3, when we win, we will celebrate like we’re used to winning.”
But as of now, there’s not too much celebrating being done by the UC Santa Barbara men’s soccer team.
The Gauchos will enter the match against Cal Poly after an incident at Sunday’s game when UC Santa Barbara hosted UC Davis. In the aftermath of their overtime loss against the Aggies (which marked their third consecutive loss at home), senior UC Santa Barbara player Peter McGlynn ran at a referee from behind and pushed him to the ground. McGlynn was arrested and escorted off the field by campus police. UC Santa Barbara’s athletic director, Mark W. Masarri, stated Monday that men’s soccer head coach Tim Vom Steeg had been suspended for one game and McGlynn had been removed from the team. In addition, Masarri stated that even if the UC Santa Barbara soccer team qualifies for playoffs it will decline the opportunity to compete in any postseason play.
But regardless of UC Santa Barbara’s playoff limitations, the team is coming to San Luis Obispo to compete at Alex G. Spanos Stadium on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Brian De Los Santos, Jefferson P. Nolan and Jacob Lauing contributed to this article.