The tortillas flew as Big West soccer rivals Cal Poly (4-7-0, 2-1-0 Big West) took on the No. 7 UCSB Gauchos (8-2-1, 2-0) in Harder Stadium Wednesday night. The Gauchos took the win 1-0, despite fans nearly causing a game suspension by littering the field with tortillas.
Cal Poly head coach Tim Holocher declined an offer by referees to suspend the game until the tortillas were removed from the field and those responsible were kicked out. Even after an announcement to stop the throwing, the corn disks kept flying. If Cal Poly would have suspended the game, “half the stadium would have been kicked out,” Holocher said.
The Gauchos, who moved into first place in the Big West with the win, got a 29th minute goal from a well-placed shot fired by Gauchos’ midfielder Luis Silva, after teammate Michael Tetteh fed him the ball at the top of the box.
The Mustangs were not without their chances. Junior midfielder David Zamora had a shot hit the post late in the first half that would have tied the match.
Harder Stadium saw 5,842 people attend the match, a relatively sparse crowd compared to the nearly 10,000 who watched the match last year in Santa Barbara, and little more than half as many attendees as the 11,075 who packed into Alex G. Spanos Stadium last year at the third-highest attended regular season soccer match in collegiate history.
Despite the smaller crowd, the tension in the stands and on the field still ran high. Gauchos fans came ready and armed with corn tortillas adorned with comments in permanent marker, letting Cal Poly know the bottles thrown onto the field at Alex G. Spanos stadium last year was not forgotten.
The Mustangs couldn’t bounce back and take advantage. “We couldn’t finish our chances, and unfortunately we let one squeeze by us,” Cal Poly forward junior Josh Didion said.
The Gauchos attacked the Mustangs’ goal hard in the first period, keeping goalkeeper Patrick McClain busy with five saves. The shots on goal flew at McLain with 14 shots in the first period. On the other end, Santa Barbara goalkeeper Sam Hayden didn’t have to save a goal once with only three shots attempted by Cal Poly.
Both teams had eight fouls each at the end of the first period. One yellow card was issued in the first period to Poly midfielder Junior Burgos at 15:06.
Cal Poly came out more aggressive in the second half. “We didn’t create anything in the first half,” Holocher said. “We told the guys, ‘you’re down a goal, we’re down a goal, you gotta go.’”
The Mustangs responded by trying to make the Gauchos work a bit harder. “We didn’t want to have another half where we didn’t ask any questions of them,” Holocher said. “Based on their lead, 1-0, we had to change and adjust so the game got a little bit more crazy.”
A brawl nearly broke out in the 63rd minute when Poly goalkeeper McLain went to the ground after a Santa Barbara attack. The referees rushed in and stopped the clock. Two Gauchos were in the face of a Cal Poly forward who was pushed to the ground. Players rushed in and two yellow cards resulted, one for Gauchos forward Martin Hedevag and one for Cal Poly defender Patrick Siegler.
Tortilla throwing increased in protest along with the chant “F*** Cal Poly.”
The emotions stayed high for the rest of the game. Six yellow cards were issued in the second half, four for UCSB and two for Cal Poly.
Cal Poly took five shots in the second period to the Gauchos’ eight, but neither could put the ball in the goal.
‘“We had our chances, they did too,” Zamora said. “At the end, it wasn’t enough for us, and they managed to pull a win.”
Cal Poly will face the Gauchos again on Nov. 4 at Alex G. Spanos stadium for Senior night. The Mustangs’ next match is Oct. 10 at Cal State Bakersfield.