Jefferson P. Nolan
sports@mustangdaily.net
The pressure was on.
A sold-out crowd in the stands. Tortillas being tossed on the field. A frustrated, unfulfilled Gauchos soccer team. A win/tie or go home situation. The tension between the Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara soccer teams mounted before the match as the crowd poured into the stadium.
With UC Davis’ 2-1 victory over Sacramento State on Saturday, the Cal Poly men’s soccer team (11-6-1, 6-3-1 Big West Conference) needed to either win or draw to make the postseason. The sellout crowd at Alex G. Spanos Stadium was recorded as the 10th-largest regular season attendance number in NCAA history, all hoping to see the Mustangs complete a full-season sweep of UC Santa Barbara for the first time since 1997.
And they got their wish.
The Mustangs defeated UC Santa Barbara 1-0 on Saturday in Alex G. Spanos Stadium, to send the team to the Big West Tournament to take on Cal State Northridge on the road.
And as for UC Santa Barbara, the teams’ season did not end as the Gauchos may have hoped.
In the team’s match last week against UC Davis, a UC Santa Barbara player assaulted a referee at the end of the game by pushing him from behind. The Gaucho player was subsequently removed from the team, and UC Santa Barbara athletic director Mark W. Masarri said head coach Tim Vom Steeg would suffer a one-game suspension and the Gauchos soccer team would decline any opportunity to participate in any playoff soccer.
That set the stage for Saturday. Junior midfielder and this season’s goal-scoring leader Mackenzie Pridham recognized the hype behind the game and understood what it meant to his team and to the school.
“We knew they were going to come out with everything on the table,” he said. “The rivalry already has something special. It just makes it even crazier. Them knowing it’s (their) last game, you knew it was going to be a battle no matter what. We tried to put a little bit of the hype aside and just stick to our play. That was what we were trying to focus and let the rest take care of it. And it did.”
At the beginning of the match, the teams battled to attempt a goal, but it wasn’t until the seventh minute that UC Santa Barbara (10-6-3, 4-5-1) produced the game’s first scoring prospect. But UC Santa Barbara senior forward Dion Acoff’s attempt was denied by Mustangs freshman goalkeeper Wade Hamilton.
The Mustangs were held to only a single goal attempt in the first half when, in the 33rd minute, sophomore Steve Palacios drove a header towards UC Santa Barbara freshman goalkeeper Austin Mansker who was able to smother the shot. The Cal Poly team responded when Pridham fired an attempt high over the net in the 49th minute and when freshman midfielder Matt LaGrassa forced another goalkeeper save in the 65th minute.
It was later in the second half that the 10th-largest sellout crowd in NCAA history would erupt in joy.
In the 77th minute, junior midfielder George Malki delivered a kick after senior forward Chris Gaschen’s initial attempt and sent the ball flying past Mansker.
“There were like three guys on the line,” Malki said of the goal. “I don’t know how it got through, but as soon as it went in, I just saw the whole stadium erupt. I’m just really fortunate and happy. We have the best fans in college soccer; there’s no doubt in my mind. Not only against Santa Barbara but against other teams. I’m really thankful for them and it’s honestly a privilege to play for them.”
Cal Poly proceeded to hold the Gauchos to a lone shot attempt during the second half.
The singular goal produced by the Mustangs turned out to be all the team needed to grasp the win and advance the men’s soccer squad to the Big West Tournament.
With the pressure mounting before the game, head coach Paul Holocher used martial artist Bruce Lee as an example as to how he wanted his team to execute.
“We actually used Bruce Lee as our analogy,” Hollacher said. “We said listen, this is not a bar room brawler. You’re not a street thug. You’ve got to be like a martial artist; you’ve got to be like Bruce Lee. He protects himself as he attacks, he picks the right moment to do it and he’s always in control. That’s what we focused on.”
And it worked.
Now having qualified for playoffs, Cal Poly will go head-to-head against the Big West South Division victor, Cal State Northridge. On Wednesday, Nov. 7, the Mustangs will play their semifinal match while Cal State Fullerton will visit UC Davis (the North Division winner) in Wednesday’s additional semifinal game. The Big West Tournament championship will be held on Saturday, Nov. 10 with the winner of the conference earning an automatic trip into the NCAA Tournament.
“Everyone’s a tough opponent in the Big West and we respect everybody,” Malki said. “But it was important for us to get this win for the Big West. Now we’re second place. We’re going to enjoy this for a little bit, but it’s all on Northridge.”