Chase Minter became the highest ever MLS Superdraft pick out of Cal Poly last week. By Owen Main

Midfielder Chase Minter became Cal Poly’s highest-ever selection in the MLS draft on Thursday, going to the Columbus Crew with the first pick of the second round (21st overall).

The two-time Midfielder of the Year in the Big West Conference, Minter attended the MLS combine in the weeks leading up to the draft along with fellow Mustang, goalkeeper Wade Hamilton.

“One of the things I think Gregg saw in Chase at the combine was that he has the ability to play in many different attacking positions,” said Sampson. “He’s so comfortable on the ball and his first touch is so explosive.”

The Columbus Crew have a pretty unique logo.

For his part, Sampson has coached MLS Champion teams with the LA Galaxy. So, can Minter play in this league?

In Sampson’s first year as head coach, Cal Poly sported four seniors with professional aspirations. Both Hamilton and midfielder Matt LaGrassa could get looks with MLS sides and Kip Colvey showed professional promise from his right back position as well — earning an invitation to the New Zealand senior national team training camp last year.

The draft continues on Tuesday with the third and fourth rounds on Tuesday at 11:00 Pacific.

Chicago Fire sign McLain

On Monday, Cal Poly alumnus and goalkeeper Patrick McLain inked a deal with the Chicago Fire. The 6’3″ Eau Claire, WI native had most recently been with Sacramento Republic of the USL.

The Chicago Fire organization also sports another Cal Poly alum. Frank Stranzl is the Director of Communications. 

For those of you nostalgic Mustang soccer fans, here’s a video of a 2011 press conference featuring McLain.

Cal Poly kicked-off Big West Conference play with a bang on Thursday night, winning at Northridge 1-0. The Mustangs’ goal came on one of the best individual college goals I’ve seen.

Hermann Award nominee Chase Minter took a headed cross calmly off his chest before executing a bicycle kick past sprawling CSUN keeper Adam Hobbs. It was Minter’s third goal of the season.

It’s something you really just need to watch. Steve Sampson’s Mustangs are now 1-0 in conference play and 6-2-1 overall.

Chase Minter was slotted as the 25th best player in the country this preseason according to TopDrawerSoccer.com. Photo by Owen Main.

Expectations for this year’s Cal Poly men’s soccer team continue to build. This week, senior midfielder Chase Minter — already on the 30-player Hermann Trophy watch list and an All-Big West preseason selection, was selected 25th on Top Drawer Soccer’s men’s national top-100 players list.

Minter is the first Big West player to appear on the list that also includes UC Irvine’s Mats Bjurman (38th), UCSB’s Nick DePuy (51st), and UCI’s Matthew Tilley (100th).

Minter scored seven goals and dished out five assists last season. He is Cal Poly’s most dynamic player with the ball at his feet and possibly the best 1 v 1 offensive player in the conference. If the Mustangs are to be serious conference contenders in 2015, Minter will have to have even a better season.

Cal Poly opens their inaugural season under first-year head coach and former US Men’s National team coach Steve Sampson on Friday night at home against defending WAC champions UNLV. Sampson compiled a 64-19-19 record while coaching at Santa Clara, and was a part of two NCAA National Championship teams — one as an assistant and one as the head coach.

Friday’s kickoff is scheduled for 7:00pm.

Steve Palacios held-down the midfield for Cal Poly, playing a steady role as the team’s only senior this season. By Owen Main

Cal Poly men’s soccer was a goal away from winning their regular season finale and earning a birth into the Big West Conference Tournament. Instead, the season ended in heartbreak on Wednesday as UC Davis netted the golden goal, ending the Mustangs’ season.

The 2014 men’s soccer season began with tumult and ended with questions of what could have been.

What if?

For the Mustangs, this season is chalk-full of “what-ifs.”

What if head coach Paul Holocher hadn’t resigned just a few days before the start of training camp?

What if Koda Wakasa or Ruben Duran had been healthy?

What if center backs Brett Foreman and Nick Carroll had been available for so many important Big West North matchups?

What if they’d been able to maintain the two-goal lead they opened-up at rival UCSB?

Soccer is not always a fair game, though. What-ifs are replaced with what actually happened, and the Mustangs fell a little short. They are a young and talented group (Steve Palacios was the only senior on the team), but they just couldn’t overcome key injuries and inconsistency.

What’s next for the program?

This is a program in transition, but it’s also a program with seven players who would have been returning seniors next season (two were injured this year and will technically be juniors next season). If they have a new coach next season, it will be their third coach in as many years.

Like many Cal Poly fans, I’m interested to see what kind of recruiting happened this season, given that the Mustangs played this entire season with an “interim” coach. I don’t know how effective an interim coach can be with recruiting — and it may not matter too much for next year, given that the team only loses one senior, but the long-term ramifications of a coach leaving the way Paul Holocher did can be potentially devastating.

This year’s team came out of the blocks strong. They scored a ton of goals early-on and got fans’ hopes up for a successful conference season, as they have in year’s past. With Phil Ruskin at the helm, there was hope for some continuity and a strong conference run. But the team finished the year with a whimper — losing their final three matches and netting only four points in six Big West North matches.

Phil Ruskin showed promise this season as the team’s interim head coach. He deserves at least another season at the helm. By Owen Main

Will Ruskin be back?

When he was named interim coach just a few days before practice started this season, Phil Ruskin took on an enormous challenge. Early-on, it looked as though the team really responded to him. The Mustangs came out scoring goals and playing an offensive, possession-oriented style of soccer that has been their hallmark. They beat North Carolina State on the road, tied top-ranked UCLA, and started conference play by tying top-5 ranked UC Irvine.

Cal Poly even started Big West Conference play strong. The tie with Irvine was followed by victories at home against Cal State Fullerton and on the road against eventual South Division champion UC Riverside.

The win in Riverside was costly. Brett Foreman, Cal Poly’s most experienced central defender went down against the Highlanders and didn’t return all season. Freshman Nick Carroll was also not available for the next game — a loss at Cal State Fullerton — and the Mustangs struggled to put things together after that. With tons of depth in attacking positions, Cal Poly was paper-thin in central defense. Carroll missed six consecutive matches before returning for the final game.

In place of Carroll and Foreman, midfileders like Matt LaGrassa and Sean Dhillon filled in admirably. Defender Mamadou Kebe was probably a year away from being truly ready for the big-time. Trenton Matson, who I believe ended up playing some, might have been better-served to maintain his redshirt season. Jack O’Connor played all right at left back as well, but the point is that a lot of players who might not have been on the pitch as much saw a lot of time and several players spent significant time in unfamiliar positions over the past six matches.

During those six games (Big West North divisional play), Cal Poly managed just four points, perpetuating a trend of a Cal Poly men’s soccer season that starts with a ton of excitement and ends with disappointment.

What’s next for Ruskin and the program? Cal Poly will likely initiate a nationwide coaching search, though I don’t know that they’ll do a lot better than Ruskin. For what it’s worth, he has always been positive and never seemed to lack confidence. Despite injuries, his teams didn’t look tactically out-matched and his players this season showed a higher level of maturity on the field this year than in seasons past.

The Big West North is a tough, tough division, and this Cal Poly team just couldn’t overcome all their challenges. With only one senior on this season’s roster, it would be very interesting to watch a Cal Poly team at full-strength with Ruskin at the helm next season. For what it’s worth, Cal Poly (according to their roster) had seven key juniors on this team who are set to return next year, including LaGrassa, Chase Minter, Wade Hamilton, Kody Wakasa, Kip Colvey, and Ruben Duran. As a fan, I would probably prefer to give Ruskin at least one more season without the interim tag to both show what he could do with recruiting and to maintain some level of consistency for next year’s senior class, who has been through a ton.

Maybe people want the program to head in a different direction, but I think, for the sake of continuity and snapping up a young, dynamic coach, Cal Poly men’s soccer would be best served to keep Ruskin around next year.

Chase Minter put Cal Poly ahead in the first half and Sean Dhillon put them up for good as the Mustangs stole three points on the road at Sacramento State on Saturday afternoon.

Cal Poly played the game without its two starting central defenders. Brett Foreman and Nick Carroll. Already missing defensive player Kody Wakasa this season, interim head coach Phil Ruskin had to make some adjustments.

Cal Poly’s Kaba Alkebulan battles for an arial ball on Saturday afternoon in Sacramento. By Owen Main

Ruskin went to two of his most trusted guys — Sean Dhillon and captain Matt LaGrassa to fill on the back line. Dhillon had been playing a wing back position and LaGrassa has played all over the central midfield. While neither Dhillon nor LaGrassa are particularly big, LaGrassa is one of Cal Poly’s best players in the air. He proved it by getting to a number of crosses ahead of Hornet attackers throughout the match.

Sacramento State did have a few early chances, including one off the post that could have changed the complexion of the match. Instead, Cal Poly’s Minter came up with a goal before halftime that set the tone for the remainder of the match.

In the second half, Sac State tied the game on a 62nd minute Cody Hoster goal, but the Mustangs bounced back. In the 76th minute, a charging Sean Dhillon took a pass from Minter and put the Mustangs ahead. Cal Poly would get some help with an own goal in the 88th minute to secure the 3-1 road victory.

Sac State’s soccer facility — Kind of nice.

Sacramento State’s soccer facility was very spectator-friendly and, though small, pretty nice. The pitch, while a little muddy in some places, had grass that looked more like a golf fairway. The stands, while pretty small, are set under a row of overhanging trees, providing really nice afternoon shade for those fans watching the match.

The shade was a challenge for this photographer as it crept farther and farther onto the pitch, but for a facility I didn’t have much expectation for coming in, the Hornets have made themselves a nice little home away from their football stadium, which has an artificial surface.

Causeway Cup coming to Bonney Field

I was told by a local newspaper writer that Sac State is trying something new in their college soccer rivalry, playing their home “Causeway Cup” game at Bonney Field. Bonney Field is host to Sacramento Republic FC, the reigning USL Pro Champions. USL Pro is the third-tier league in the United States, and is a place MLS teams can assign players to get some game action.

I was told Republic FC sold-out all but one of their matches this season and if vying for an MLS team in the near future — with plans to further expand Bonney Field.

If Sac State and UC Davis could amp up their rivalry, the Big West North could continue to get more and more competitive. Let’s be honest, big rivalries and big college soccer crowds are nothing but fun.

Big West Division Openers

With the win on Saturday, Cal Poly remains in a first-place tie. In the other Big West North game, UC Davis scored a dramatic goal in the second overtime period to upend UCSB 1-0. The Mustangs and Aggies lead the division with 10 points each. UCSB and Sacramento State stay on 7 and 6 points respectively. UC Irvine beat Cal State Fullerton on Saturday and also have 10 points in conference.

Cal Poly hosts UC Davis on Wednesday night at Alex G. Spanos Stadium (7:00 pm) and plays in Goleta on Saturday at 7:30 in a match that will be televised on Fox Sports Prime Ticket.

Photos by Owen Main

To view on an iPhone or iPad, click here. 

Cal Poly’s Kaba Alkebulan was a physical offensive target for much of Thursday’s match. By Owen Main

UC Irvine was the highest ranked opponent Cal Poly has ever hosted. Ranked second, the Anteaters came into Spanos Stadium on Thursday night and have to feel fortunate to escape with a point after Cal Poly dominated the first half and were a penalty kick save away from blowing the game wide-open.

Matching styles

Only knowing their record, I expected Irvine to be much more physical in this game. Instead, they also played a pretty attractive style of soccer that made the first half really enjoyable. Both teams showed really nice ball-control, poise, and solid passing and ball-movement.

I’m still convinced this will be the exception from Cal Poly opponents in conference play.

His friends call him The Captain

Cal Poly’s Matt LaGrassa opened the scoring late in the first half. In the 43rd minute, midfield captain found a Chase Minter cross and powered it off the crossbar, down off the Anteater goalie, and into the net. It was LaGrassa’s team-leading fifth goal of the season.

La Grassa was everywhere in this game. On at least three occasions, the midfielder tracked back to make goal-saving clearances in the box. He was also at the crux of Cal Poly’s possession in the midfield and one of the main reasons the Mustangs looked so great in the first half.

In the second half, Irvine shut-down the center of the pitch, squeezing LaGrassa and Steve Palacios and forcing Cal Poly out wide.

Missed opportunity

After controlling most of the first half, Cal Poly was put on their heels in the second half — played mostly in their defensive half. Irvine had multiple opportunities throughout the half. Cal Poly goalie Wade Hamilton stretched to make eight saves — including a few sprawling ones after halftime.

In the 53rd minute, Cal Poly had a chance to get a stranglehold on the game. John Chronopolis was fouled in the box and stepped-up to take a penalty kick against Irvine’s Michael Breslin. Chronopolis rushed his kick a little and Breslin guessed right, diving toward the right post. The shot was well-placed, but Breslin was there to stop and control the ball.

The impressive save by Breslin was his only save of the second half, but surely the biggest one of the game.

Momentum Shift

From there on, the Anteaters really squeezed Cal Poly’s possession game and made them a little one-dimensional. Irvine attacked Cal Poly defenders and midfielders with constant pressure after halftime, and in the 76th minute, all of Irvine’s possession and pressure finally paid-off. Marlo Ortiz did the honors, scoring his first goal of the season on a rocket into the upper-corner. Hamilton had no chance and the game was tied.

Cal Poly had some good opportunities late, but couldn’t find the back of the net. Sophomore Justin Dhillon continues to get shots from places that aren’t quite as dangerous as he’d like. Dhillon managed a team-high five shots (three on-goal), but didn’t find the back of the net. Like last weekend’s home game, this one was a sister-kisser.

The weekend’s not over

Cal Poly hosts Cal State Northridge on Sunday at about 3:00pm as part of an afternoon doubleheader with the women’s team (the women’s home conference opener is scheduled for noon at. The Matadors beat the Mustangs twice last season, including the first round of the Big West Conference Tournament. Sagi Lev-Ari might be the most dynamic striker in the conference and will test the Cal Poly defense.

Aaaand the pitch

The field looked in pretty solid shape last night. Some turf came up, but it seemed to be pretty true. After a football game Saturday and the women’s soccer game on Sunday afternoon, I’ll be interested to see what shape the field stays in for Sunday’s men’s game.

Photos by Owen Main

The game plan has been the same for a few years. For teams playing against Cal Poly’s possession-style game, there has been one consistent answer. Get physical. I’m not talking Olivia Newton-John physical.

I’m talking hard-nosed tackles, grabbing, pulling, bumping, and generally slowing the game down. See, the Mustangs want to keep the game flowing and the ball moving at all costs, but they better be prepared for what teams are about to throw at them.

Last season, Cal State Fullerton used the second conference game of the season to give blueprint of how to frustrate and beat the Mustangs. Cal Poly ended that game with ten men and ended the season only winning two of their final ten matches.

In this week’s press conference, I asked coach Phil Ruskin about the physical play of other teams against his.

In terms of technical ability, Ruskin isn’t wrong. Cal Poly does move the ball around and there aren’t a lot better passers and technical players like Cal Poly’s Chase Minter, Steve Palacios, and Matt LaGrassa. But, they’re not the biggest guys. Most of Cal Poly’s taller, more physical players like Kaba Alkebulan, Justin Dhillon, and freshman Adam Olsen are attackers.

Matt LaGrassa and the Mustangs midfielders will have to endure a lot during a tough conference schedule. By Owen Main

Just as Cal Poly has the potential to wear-down and frustrate other teams by controlling the ball, other teams also have the ability to play a physical, high-pressure style and maybe even get under Cal Poly’s skin.

UC Irvine comes into Thursday night’s Big West Conference opener with the number two RPI in the country as an unbeaten team. Ruskin feels Cal Poly can compete with them. They are certainly skilled enough, but whether they are strong enough or mentally tough enough remains to be seen.

At some point, one would think that Cal Poly soccer is due to take the next step for the program and legitimately compete for a conference title. Whether that year is this year, with less depth than they expected and an interim head coach remains to be seen. I guess I’ve seen stranger things.

But the main question for me is still about Cal Poly’s depth and ability to deal with physical play. Can a team like Cal Poly with 13-14 rotation players compete at this level? Can they handle physical conference weekends where they might get beat-up?

Thursday night, we’ll begin the journey to find out.

Chase Minter’s shirt is almost ripped-off as a Drake defender executes the physical game plan to perfection. By Owen Main

Cal Poly fans were poised to explode. The team gave itself numerous opportunities.

The goal never came.

Against a tall and physical Drake side, Cal Poly men’s soccer played 110 goalless minutes in a game that ended in a scoreless draw.

Drake looked the more aggressive of the two teams early-on. Without a tall defensive option, Cal Poly was left scrambling to defend arial passes into the box. Midway through the first half, Cal Poly began to get their legs under them, and while the possession favored the Mustangs through most of the remainder of the game, the two teams both had numerous opportunities to put themselves on the scoreboard.

Mostly content to sit back and counter-attack, Drake managed 16 shots, three on goal. The Mustangs, who dominated more possession, couldn’t find the combination in the final third of the field and ended with 19 shots, six on-goal. The Mustangs’ best chance came within the final ten minutes of regulation when Justin Dhillon found himself unmarked at the back post. Dhillon headed a cross just wide of the net. As headers go, I’m sure it’s one he would like back.

The run of play was probably the best I’ve seen from the Mustangs at Spanos this season. Drake was a disciplined team that executed a physical, defensive game plan to keep the game scoreless. Cal Poly, who relies more on quickness than strength, has a little work to do to try to figure out how to play against a more physical style, especially when the officials are letting grabbing and pulling go.

The Big West is a physical conference and Drake was indicative of what many teams in the conference will try to do against Cal Poly.

Out of depth

Cal Poly, already playing without defensive midfielder Kody Wakasa, was also missing winger John Chronopolis (illness) and Kaba Alkeibulan (ankle). Both are expected to be ready for the conference opener on Friday against UC Irvine at Spanos Stadium, but their absence meant that Cal Poly head coach Phil Ruskin only used one substitution all match against Drake.

I’ve talked and written about how missed, in my opinion, Ari Lassiter is, too. Along with all the injuries, him not being on the roster is simply a blow to the team’s depth.

Cal Poly has a very solid 1-13 or 1-14 on their roster, but to win at the college level, where there are free substitutions, teams generally need 15-16 players to provide some contribution. On the back-end of a weekend in conference play, legs do get tired and mistakes are made. I’m interested to see how well the Mustangs do in those second games, given their usual rotation of 13-14 players.

Conference schedule front-loaded

Cal Poly’s schedule in conference is pretty heavily front-loaded this season. They’ll start conference with a pair of home matches against UC Irvine (currently ranked fourth in the nation) and Cal State Northridge, who knocked the Mustangs out of the Big West Tournament a year ago. The Matadors also feature the single biggest scoring threat in the conference in Sagi Lev-Ari. Thursday night’s match starts at 7:00 pm and Sunday’s kicks-off at 3:00 pm.

Photos by Owen Main

To view photos on an iPad or iPhone, click here

Mustang captain, Matt LaGrassa’s headed goal and subsequent celebration drove the crowd of nearly 7,000 fans at Alex G. Spanos Stadium into a frenzy. By Owen Main

Yes, Cal Poly men’s soccer is a somewhat improbable 5-1-1 this season.  Yes, they’ve scored more than one goal in five of their seven matches. Yes, they are unbeaten in six straight after beating San Francisco 2-1 on Friday night at Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

The key stat of the night — 6,856. That’s how many fans — mostly WOWies — showed up to take-in the game. The WOWies came ready — faces painted, and impressed with chants and songs that they clearly had studied-up on.

On the pitch, San Francisco played as well as the Mustangs for much of the match. Cal Poly got on the board in the 12th minute when freshman, Joseph Bolous tapped a rebound into the corner, sending the WOWies — many of whom were still finding their seats — into a frenzy.

USF outplayed Cal Poly for most of the second half, but the Mustangs scored again. Captain Matt LaGrassa sailed high in the air to head Cal Poly’s second goal home in the 70th minute to put the Mustangs up by two.

The way the second half went, it would have been a miracle if San Francisco didn’t find the net at some point. The Dons finally emerged when Joshua Smith put one home in the 87th minute, but it was too little, too late for the Mustangs’ West Coast Conference opponents.

If Cal Poly freshmen wanted to know whether the soccer environment was all it was cracked-up to be, they found out on Friday. Interim Cal Poly coach Phil Ruskin has talked about wanting to get big crowds for games that aren’t UCSB games. He got one on Friday.

One British USF fan summed up the atmosphere quite nicely.

“Brilliant,” he said. “This is better than some of the professional games back home.”

The Mustangs next face former Big West rival Pacific on Sunday at 1pm at Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

Photos by Owen Main

To view photos on iPhone or iPad, click here

Phil Ruskin, who took over for Paul Holocher 12 days before the season began, looks for his first home victory as a head coach this weekend. By Owen Main

Less than a month ago, Phil Ruskin was a second-year assistant coach under Paul Holocher, preparing for the fast-approaching NCAA soccer season. Now, two games into the season, Ruskin is the program’s interim head coach, trying to put his own stamp on a program that has shown flashes of brilliance over the past few seasons.

“I don’ think you’re ever really prepared,” said Ruskin, who was thrust into the head coaching position just 12 days before the first game of the season. “Certainly, when a situation like this occurs, there’s absolutely no preparation, but even still it’s a great opportunity for our staff to learn, it’s a great opportunity to put our mark on the program, and it’s a chance to do something that’s never been done.”

A big win at UCLA early last season gave the Mustangs some early confidence. After a hot conference start, Cal Poly looked poised to be real Big West contenders. Instead, they limped to the finish line, managing only three wins out of 10 Big West regular season matches. In 2013, Cal Poly lost their final three matches of the season by a combined score of 8-2, and bowed-out of the playoffs with a decisive 4-1 loss to Cal State Northridge in the Big West Tournament.

Ruskin is looking at the season as an opportunity to show what he’s made of as the leader of the program.

“I think that’s the only way to look at it,” said Ruskin. “You have to be excited every morning to get up and to bring the energy to the training session, to have the preparation and the planning… . We want to look at our week each week and look at what days we want to do certain things. We want to manage the week for the players.”

At least one player has left the program since Holocher’s departure, and Ruskin has worked hard to keep everyone together as a unit.

“The biggest challenge right now is just making sure the guys are bought-in, and I think that their response this weekend showed us that they are,” said Ruskin. “I think the hardest thing is to come into a season with the idea in mind that you’re preparing one way and then a week before to understand that now, everything’s different. We’ve tried to keep things as consistent as we possibly can, I think the one thing we can ask from them is that they continue to do the same thing as well.”

Junior, Chase Minter, leads the Mustangs so far this season with three goals in the first two games. By Owen Main

Junior, Chase Minter has three goals in the first two games and believes that the controversy the team has gone through has helped develop some amount of chemistry between the players that might not have been there before.

“Our coaching staff and players started worrying more about what was in our control. Doing so made us more complete and a more solidified group,” said Minter. “In the time I’ve been here we’re probably the closest that we’ve ever been. I think we’re kind of born through fire, we’re getting closer through [adversity]. It’s really making us more solidified as a group and we’re working for each other more. I think it’s unfortunate what happened, but we’re definitely moving forward. We’re getting closer as the season goes-on.”

A dangerous and diminutive winger, Minter has been given the green light by Ruskin to play more freely and take advantage of attacking opportunities when they arise.

While the offensive numbers are gaudy, overall results haven’t quite been what anyone in the program wants. Last season, the program scored a program-record 43 goals in 21 games, but also gave up 34 en route to a 10-9-2 overall record.

“We’ve been working throughout the off-season on getting behind the ball, balancing, and so far it’s been looking better this year,” said junior goalie, Wade Hamilton. “We’re definitely still working, but we’re getting the hang of it.”

Last week, Cal Poly showed they can still be potent offensively, scoring six goals in two games in North Carolina. The Mustangs showed they still also have some work to do. They gave up five goals including a 4-3 loss to Davidson in their first game of the year. In that match, they lost an early 2-0 lead.

The 3-1 victory two days later over ACC foe North Carolina State was Ruskin’s first win as head coach and gave the Mustangs some confidence going into their home home opener against Northern Illinois.

“We figured out what we were doing wrong in the first game [vs. Davidson],” said Hamilton. “We had a plan and we stuck to the plan and we capitalized on what we needed to do.”

Cal Poly’s non-conference home schedule includes six games this seaon against Northern Illinois, Massachusetts, Grand Canyon, San Francisco, and Pacific.

Their first two conference games are at home also. Conference contenders UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton will be in town October 2nd and 5th, respectively.

The schedule doesn’t get easier, but Ruskin gives off an aura of confidence and assuredness. While carrying on the possession-oriented, offensive style Holocher has developed, he also seems a little more open to adjust styles of play based on the game.

“We want to continue to play attractive soccer,” said Ruskin. “But I think we’ve asked the players to really read the game in a way where they understand that there are certain moments when we do have to play a bit more direct, at times, because that’s what the game calls for.”

Cal Poly Men’s Soccer at a glance:

Current Record: 1-1

Goals for: 6

Goals against: 5

Leading Scorer: Chase Minter (3)

Tonight’s game: 7:00 PM, Alex G. Spanos Stadium vs. Northern Illinois

Sunday’s game: 12:00 Noon, Alex G. Spanos Stadium vs. Massachusetts

Photos by Owen Main