A lone goal by graduate forward Spencer Held led Cal Poly Men’s Soccer to a 1-0 shutout over Sacramento State Wednesday, Oct. 23 at Hornet Soccer Field. With the victory, the Mustangs have won three consecutive conference matches and remain in fourth-place as postseason competition approaches.
The Mustangs (7-6-1, 3-2 Big West) are within one point of the top spot, which is a three-team tie as UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis and UC Irvine all have a 3-1-1 conference record. With the loss, the Hornets (6-8-2, 1-3-1 Big West) are in last place of the Big West standings.
The Mustangs outshot the Hornets 6-4 in the first half with two of the six shots on goal. However, Sacramento State goalkeeper Ryan Curtis stopped chances from senior midfielder Diego Alonso and junior midfielder Emmanuel Perez to keep the Mustangs off the scoreboard at the end of the first half.
After 68 scoreless minutes, Held took a pass from graduate midfielder Robert Knights and gave Cal Poly the go-ahead goal with his only chance of the game — a powerful bending shot from top of the penalty box into the right side of the net. Held’s goal was his third of the season while Knights’ assist was his first as a Mustang.
Mustang sophomore goalkeeper Carlos Arce-Hurtado collected his second consecutive shutout and fourth of the season as Cal Poly held the Hornets without a shot on goal. The Mustangs outshot the Hornets 10-7 and had a 6-1 advantage on corner kicks.
Cal Poly will play its final road game of the season against UC Irvine on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 7 pm. The Mustangs return to Spanos Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 2 to host Blue-Green Rival UC Santa Barbara at 5 pm for the final match of the season.