Patrick FinaA last-minute goal gave the Cal Poly women’s soccer team a 3-0 Big West Conference record and head coach Alex Crozier his 200th career win Sunday against Cal State Northridge.
The Mustangs (8-6) came off back-to-back wins over Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside to get a 1-0 victory at Alex G. Spanos Stadium when sophomore forward Monica Hemenez scored with five seconds left in regulation.
She knocked it into the left corner off of a header from sophomore forward Whitney Sisler to finally beat goalkeeper Leah Elliott, who had 14 saves.
“I didn’t know if it went in or not,” Hemenez said. “I was on the ground but I heard everyone cheering.”
Cal Poly controlled throughout, establishing a 22-9 shooting advantage over the Matadors (5-7-1, 0-2).
“We did a lot of things well – we just didn’t finish,” Crozier said. “The goalkeeper made some good saves. We just kept playing, kept plugging away and finally got the goal. I think we did a good job of not trying to force it.”
Sophomore midfielder Morgan Miller, who was named Big West Player of the Week after posting four goals over two games last week, was played at forward and had six shots, a team high.
“I felt like we should have had a couple goals in the first half but we kept powering through,” said Hemenez, who took four shots. “I mean, we got one – that’s all that matters. It took a while, though.”
With the win came a record for Crozier, who is in his 17th year of coaching the Mustangs. He’s the fifth Cal Poly coach to have 200 wins in any sport, the first in the women’s soccer program’s annals and just the 32nd in NCAA Division I women’s soccer history to reach the plateau.
“I’m more happy about being 3-0 in conference,” he said. “That’s been on the forefront of my mind; it’s a tight race this year. At the end of the season I’ll probably look back and think more about the 200 wins.”
The Mustangs will host UC Santa Barbara at 5 p.m. Sunday.