Men’s Soccer
The Cal Poly men’s soccer team finished the 2011 season sixth in the Big West Conference standings missing the conference tournament for the first time in three years.
A common theme for the Mustangs throughout 2011 was their inability to convert their high shot totals into goals. In their second match of the season, Cal Poly outshot New Mexico 16-3, but wasn’t able to break through as the match ended in a 0-0 draw. The Lobos would eventually become ranked No. 1 in the nation at regular season’s end. The Mustangs outshot all but one opponent through the season’s opening seven games.
In the team’s second game away from home, Cal Poly visited defending national champion and then No. 4 Akron. The Mustangs challenged the Zips for most of 90 minutes, but a penalty kick in the 83rd minute proved to be the deciding factor as the Mustangs left FirstEnergy Stadium with a 1-0 loss feeling robbed of what could have been a momentous upset.
Following a 3-1 loss to Denver, Cal Poly began conference play by visiting No.7 UC Irvine. On the shoulders of freshman keeper Chase Houser’s first collegiate start, the Mustangs were able to blank the Anteaters 1-0 despite being heavily outshot 18-3.
Cal Poly went 1-2 in its next three conference games, including a 5-0 thrashing of UC Riverside. The Mustangs then welcomed UC Santa Barbara for a Friday night showdown with the rival Gauchos. Senior defender Patrick Sigler, a record four-time All-Big West selection, slotted a 90th minute penalty kick past the Gaucho keeper to send a sold-out crowd of 11,075 into a frenzy as Cal Poly defeated UC Santa Barbara for the second time in a year.
But the wheels came off for the Mustangs in their final five matches of the season, going 0-4-1 and scoring only one goal during that stretch. In its final match of the season, Cal Poly traveled to UC Santa Barbara for the second leg of its home-and-home with the Gauchos only to lose 2-1 in a lackluster performance in front of 13,822 fans, the largest of the year in NCAA soccer, and fifth largest regular season attendance in history.
The Mustangs set program records for fewest goals conceded with 17 and fewest goals allowed per match with 0.94. The offense never found its rhythm though, only slotting 15 goals in 18 total matches in 2011.
Senior Kyle Montgomery led the team in scoring with three tallies on the season while four others were tied with two.
Football
Six points. A pair of consecutive three point losses was all that prevented the Cal Poly football team from earning a berth in the 2011 Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs. Yet in a season of transition, this edition of Cal Poly football, which finished the season at 6-5, will be remembered more for its triumphs over adversity than the outcomes on the field.
The schedule was front-loaded with difficult opponents and road games, and the conference championship would not provide an automatic berth to the playoffs.
The coaches’ headsets went out in a loss to defending Poinsettia Bowl Champion San Diego State in the season opener, and then, the team traveled to DeKalb, Ill., to play a Northern Illinois team that finished the previous season 11-3 in the Football Bowl Subdivision. A game against perennial FCS powerhouse Montana was thrown in for good measure.
After starting out the year 1-3, with a non-conference schedule that was more difficult than Stanford or Alabama’s, the Mustangs went on a five game winning streak that included a victory over defending conference champion Southern Utah and culminated with a 17 point comeback against South Dakota. The streak persevered despite injuries to starters players Asa Jackson, Gavin Cooper, Marc Rodgers, Nico Molino, Greg Francis, B’jion Samoodi and Maurice McClure. The training staff was so overworked, even they started needing medical attention.
Even though the endless string of injuries eventually sabotaged Cal Poly’s playoff chances, the aches and pains provided the drama for the season’s most memorable moments. Senior fullback Jake Romanelli, ran from the sideline to huddle after each dive into line with a hurt shoulder against Eastern Washington to lead by example. Also, star cornerback Jackson played the last five games with turf toe — risking his NFL Draft status — and proved why he might be the best cornerback in the FCS.
The dream of making the playoffs ended on a rain soaked Saturday against rivals UC Davis.
The Mustangs rebounded the next week with their gutsiest performance of the season the following week against defending FCS National Champion Eastern Washington. Despite facing an NFL-caliber quarterback and having what seemed like the entire secondary playing through some injury, they pushed Eastern Washington to three overtimes in a 53-50 loss. After two demoralizing losses, Cal Poly rebounded by traveling 3,000 miles across the country and whipping the University of South Alabama 41-10 and gave the senior class the third winning season of their careers.
The memories provided by players such as Jackson, Murphy, Rodgers and Winnewisser will eventually fade away, but the way they approached adversity will be carried on by a new generation of Mustangs with last names of Tucker, Castaneda, Millard and Britt. The sky is the limit for the future of Cal Poly football.
Volleyball
The Mustang volleyball team stumbled out of the gate after former head coach Jon Stevenson was relieved of his duty just two games into the year, but the team recovered to post a 12-17 record and fell just under .500 in Big West Conference play at 7-9.
At the team’s last home game, the Mustangs beat UC Riverside Highlanders on Nov. 11 with set scores of 25-10, 25-21 and 25-15. The Highlanders never led during the game.
The last game the team had against UC Santa Barbara dropped the Mustangs to 6-8 in the Big West and bumped up UCSB with a record of 9-5.
Keddy had 18 kills, the only Mustang to reach double figures. Both senior Catie Smith and sophomore Kristina Graven contributed five kills. Senior Sarah Carse had 11 digs and 30 assists.
The team finished seventh in the nine-team Big West Conference and graduated three seniors.
Athletics director Don Oberhelman has indicted throughout the season that he will conduct a national search for a new head coach to take the place of Caroline Walters, who carried the interim tag after Stevenson’s dismissal.
Women’s Soccer
The Cal Poly women’s soccer season ended with the Mustangs falling just shy of a Big West Tournament bid.
The team went 9-9-1 this season overall, but won just three of the eight Big West Conference matches.
The team’s final game was against UC Santa Barbara, where the Gauchos scored two goals at the beginning of the second half to end the Mustangs playoff hopes. Freshman Sara Lancaster, a playmaker all season, connected with another goal to make the final score at 2-1.
Lancaster was the highest scoring player this season with a total of eight goals — two of which were game winners.
Lancaster received an honorable mention from Big West Conference along with teammate senior Tiffany Gummow. Junior CiCi Kobinski was also selected for the 2011 All-Big West First Team.
Kiobinski completed her second goal of the season against Cal State Northridge Oct. 7, setting the tone for the rest of the game. Lancaster followed with a goal in the last minute of the game. Goalie Brooke Gauvin made seven saves, contributing to Cal Poly’s win.
The team ended the season in seventh place in a hotly contested Big West conference with nine points.