Stephan Teodosescu
steodosescu@mustangdaily.net
Mackenzie Pridham has had a flair for the dramatic this season.
He’s produced four game-winning goals in 15 games. He’s scored six goals in the opening seven games of Big West Conference play. He’s even placed himself on track to be the third player in Cal Poly men’s soccer Division I history to register more than 10 goals in a single season.
But those intriguing numbers pale in comparison to the drama Pridham helped unfold in Cal Poly’s recent 2-1 overtime victory over UC Santa Barbara in Harder Stadium.
With his team down 1-0 with just more than a minute to play, the junior forward crafted a scoring opportunity by bulldozing into Gauchos goalkeeper Austin Mansker as he tried to win possession on a 50-50 ball inside the 18-yard box. Both he and the keeper fell to the field in the collision, but the ball slipped away to the feet of junior midfielder George Malki, who rifled home the rebound to tie the game and send it to overtime.
“I said ‘I’m not backing down to this,’” Pridham said of the collision. “I’m either hitting the floor or the ball is going in the net.”
The ball did go in, but he wasn’t finished.
Following several tic-tac-toe passes between him and senior midfielder Chris Gaschen, Pridham scored the golden goal in the 96th-minute with a strike to the top corner of the net. The goal catalyzed a frenzy among the Cal Poly fans on hand and helped the Mustangs beat UC Santa Barbara on the road for the first time since 1998.
“Just seeing the emotion on our fans’ faces was amazing and seeing them rush (UC Santa Barbara’s) field was pretty crazy,” Pridham said. “It’s hard to explain with words. It was pretty special and it’ll be something I remember for the rest of my life.”
It’s been more of the same for Pridham this year. The Toronto, Ontario native leads the Mustangs with nine goals on the year and trails only Cal State Northridge forward Sagi Lev-Ari’s 12 total tallies for the conference’s top spot. Malki and junior forward Chris Bernardi are next in line for the Mustangs with three goals each.
But despite only scoring twice in his Cal Poly career entering the season, the Canadian citizen has shown he deserves to be looked at as an elite offensive weapon. Cal Poly head coach Paul Holocher saw Pridham’s potential well before the scoring outburst began.
“We saw it coming in the spring time, he was scoring goals every game,” Holocher said. “He’s taking to the way that we’re playing, because we’re playing with a point striker and his running is more geared to going straight to the goal.”
With a newly-installed FC Barcelona 1-4-3-3 formation this season, the Mustangs have helped foster that potential. According to Holocher, the possession-minded attack Cal Poly now runs suits Pridham well, considering he can set up shop in front of goal and wait for a scoring opportunity.
“Inside the 18-yard box he is at his best,” Holocher said, “his mentality is to score.”
For Pridham, that mentality was born from watching plenty of film on Barcelona’s attractive style of play this season, although he’s quick to admit he doesn’t like watching sports on television — he’d rather be playing them.
Pridham began his soccer career like many others — at the American Youth Soccer Organization, or AYSO, level. A graduate of Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose, Pridham has also played for the U-17 Canadian Men’s National Team and has participated in training camp for the U-20 World Cup in Egypt.
Fellow Canadian and junior forward Ian Clark, now one of his closest friends on the Cal Poly soccer team, acknowledged Pridham’s passion for the sport that goes back to his roots.
The two have bonded over their years together in San Luis Obispo, but Clark admits that the bond extends to the team as whole.
“We play for the love of the team,” Clark said. “And (Pridham) definitely emulates that the most.”
Clark and Pridham have bonded off the field as well, namely at their families’ cottages located on rural Georgian Bay in Ontario. With Clark growing up in British Columbia and Pridham in Ontario, the two never knew each other until coming to Cal Poly four years ago. But, they soon realized each had a vacation home located just a mile away from the other in eastern Canada. There, the bond was forged.
As for soccer, Clark said Pridham’s passion is unmatched on the field.
“He brings a lot of heart,” Clark said. “He’s very athletic and balanced … He’ll never go into a game and give less than 100 percent.”
With his game-clinching strike against UC Santa Barbara, Pridham moved into eighth place on Cal Poly’s all-time scoring list. A single goal in the Mustangs’ next three games will make him Cal Poly’s first double-digit goal scorer since Clay Harty in 1996.
“Going into this season, my goal was to hit double-digits and go as far as I could,” Pridham said. “If I could make it to 10 in the next few games, that would be amazing. I will have achieved my goal.”
Pridham’s contributions have been a key ingredient in improving the Mustangs offense from last year’s figure of 15 goals in 18 matches. This season, Cal Poly has already notched 22 goals in just 15 total matches.
Pridham’s teammate, Malki, has experienced the ups and downs of the season alongside Pridham, and he appreciates how much each teammate contributes to the team.
“I love every single one of my teammates,” Malki said. “(Pridham) has been huge for us this year. I think he has that scoring mentality that a scorer needs, and he’s really helped us this year. I love playing with him, and we really connect.”
But Pridham and the Mustangs will have their work cut out for them going forward. With all three remaining matchups coming against Big West North Division rivals, Pridham will need to provide yet another spark for his team — this time preferably earlier than 89 minutes into the match.