Big West Women’s Soccer Tournament goes SLO

This Sara Lancaster effort made it to goal, but was saved by the Long Beach State keeper. by Owen Main

By virtue of their regular season conference title a year ago, Cal Poly is hosting the women’s soccer tournament this year. On Thursday night, top-seeded Cal State Fullerton beat Cal State Northridge 1-0. CSUN had the possession advantage and seemed to even have more chances, but soccer isn’t always a fair game that way and Titan Christina Burkenroad cleaned up a bouncing ball in front of the goal for the game-winner.

The semifinal nightcap wasn’t exactly what the home team was looking for. Second-seeded Cal Poly played third-seeded Long Beach State.

Both teams played a similar style, and neither team gave up a goal through 90 minutes of regulation or a 20 minute overtime. A shootout ended when a CSUN player scored in the seventh round, ending Cal Poly’s season and sending the 49ers to the tournament championship on Sunday.

Sunday’s Championship Game at Spanos Stadium between Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State starts shortly after 1:00PM.

Home crowd?

Much of the home crowd throughout the season comes from students, who get into the game for free with their student ID. When the Big West Tournament comes to town, student tickets go for $5. Whether it was because of the cost or lack of awareness on-campus, the Cal Poly match’s attendance was a disappointment. Up to about 100 students did show up at some point during the match — most were fellow student-athletes who came to root the soccer team on.

I asked someone how many student tickets the Athletic Department at Cal Poly was going to buy to create a real home field advantage if the Mustangs made the final. My suggestion was met with a little bit of an eye roll. Cal Poly doesn’t get to show itself off very often, so they need to take advantage of these opportunities like hosting a conference tournament.

I think student tickets were $5 each, so paying for 500 tickets would have cost the university $2,500. I don’t know whether it would have made a difference, but the Cal Poly students who did show up made for a much more festive atmosphere in the second half.

Cal Poly seniors play last game

For four Cal Poly seniors, Thursday night marked the end of college careers. The senior group included Sara Lancaster, Tracy Hong, Megan Heddinger, and Christina Eichinger.

Hong’s knee injury was especially of note, as Cal Poly’s back line seemed pretty tired at the end of the double-overtime game.

A champion will be crowned

The final will be at Spanos on Sunday at about 1:00 on Fox Sports Prime Ticket.

Photos by Owen Main

Long Beach State 0-0 Cal Poly (Long Beach State wins on penalties)

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Cal State Fullerton 1-0 Cal State Northridge

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