Cal Poly Starts Homecoming Weekend with Two Big Wins

Cal Poly forward Mackenzie Pridham scored a golden goal to give Cal Poly their first win in Santa Barbara in 14 years on Friday night. It was Pridham’s 9th goal of the season.

For Cal Poly fans, homecoming weekend began in winning fashion on Friday night. On the eve of the 6-0 football team hosting Portland State, the 1- volleyball team won their first conference match and the men’s soccer team beat UCSB 2-1 in Santa Barbara to  vault to the top of the table in the Big West Northern Division.

For the Volleyball team, the match went down to the wire. After winning the first set, Sam Crosson’s team lost the next two before winning the final two. The fifth set was won 17-15. The victory snapped a 15-match winless streak for the 2-18 (1-7 in the Big West Conference) squad.

The men’s team, who has had success throughout the season, did something they hadn’t done in 14 years — win at UCSB. The 16th-ranked Gauchos scored first in the 75th minute. Down 1-0, Cal Poly midfielder George Malki scored his third goal of the season with only 66 seconds left to send the match into overtime. In the sixth minute of overtime, Cal Poly’s leading scorer Mackenzie Pridham scored a golden goal, his ninth of the year, to send the tortilla-throwing Gaucho faithful home without any points for their team.

“It’s incredible, the heart of this team. We were scored on first, but the power and quality the guys showed tonight, they weren’t going to be denied,” seventh-year Cal Poly head coach Paul Holocher said. “We’ve come here so many times and been second best. They guys refused to have that feeling tonight.”

The win puts Cal Poly into a tie for 1st place in the Northern Division. UCSB remains on 10 points, three back of Cal Poly and Sacramento State and two points back of UC Davis.

Homecoming weekend continues this evening when the football team hosts Portland State and 6:05. We’ll be posting pictures and updates from the homecoming festivities during and after the game.

Photos by David Livingston

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