Senior goalkeeper Sophia Brown scored her first career goal in her final game for Cal Poly as she and four other seniors helped the Mustangs take down UC Riverside 3-0 on Sunday, Nov. 3. In a special moment, Brown scored through a penalty kick to put Cal Poly (6-10-3, 3-3-2 Big West) up 2-0.
“I was like, ‘You know what, why not?’” Brown said. “Last [ga
me], so I might as well do it, and just put it right in. It was awesome.”
Brown and fellow graduating seniors Jordan Patane, Megan Demijohn, Georgina Stiegeler and Jessica Johnson were honored before their last game in green and gold.
Patane added an assist for the first goal, which was scored by sophomore midfielder Sidra Bugsch.
Bugsch opened the scoring in the 4th minute. The goal came after a strong forward run by Patane, whose shot was blocked and deflected back to her feet. Patane squared the ball to Bugsch in the center of the box before the sophomore fired a shot into the left side of the goal.
Brown’s penalty came in the 68th minute after freshman forward Nikki Trucco was tripped in the box by Riverside goalkeeper Annie Bailey. The Mustangs were awarded a penalty kick. Brown made the long run across the field to take the penalty behind loud cheers from the Cal Poly fans.
The senior placed the ball high into the back of the net to make the score 2-0.
#ICYMI Senior keeper Sophia Brown scored her first career goal in her last game as Mustang! #RideHigh pic.twitter.com/WfP1WwTlqV
— Cal Poly W. Soccer (@CPWomensSoccer) November 4, 2019
“I thought [Brown] had a fantastic senior year … That’s kind of like icing on the cake for her, something she’ll talk about for the rest of her life,” Head coach Alex Crozier said.
The Mustangs scored again in the 70th minute through Brooke Rubinstein. The sophomore forward chased down a long ball from freshman forward Camille Lafaix and made no mistake in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper as she scored the final goal of the day.
Crozier gave credit to the senior class for their impact on the team.
“I think we shifted our culture a little bit … so seniors take care of the freshmen rather than beating up on them, and I thought this was the first class where they embraced that,” Crozier said. “They did a phenomenal job in helping us create that shift.”
Cal Poly finished the season in fifth-place in the Big West Conference. As a result, the Mustangs will not take part in postseason competition. Despite missing out on the Big West Tournament, Brown chose to focus on the positive ending to the Mustangs’ season.
“I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better note to end on, and so right now, I’m just happy,” Brown said.