Nick Carroll‘s 81st minute goal lifted Cal Poly men’s soccer to their first win of the year in their home opener Sunday afternoon at Alex G. Spanos Stadium. 

Junior Jose Rivera, a transfer from Irvine Valley College, took a ball deep into the box and calmly left it off in perfect position for Carroll. The left back measured the pass and blasted it through the Saint Mary’s keepers hands into the net as the WOW week crowd of 5,000 – plus exploded. 

Nick Carroll lifts @CPMensSoccer over Saint Mary's with his first career goal! Mustangs beat the Gaels, 1-0. #KSBYsports pic.twitter.com/E9YP9fI1Vt

— Chance Dickman (@ChanceDickmanTV) September 11, 2017

Props to new KSBY weekend sports anchor, Chance Dickman for getting GREAT video of the shot, goal, and aftermath. 

After playing their first four games on the road, three against nationally ranked teams, the Mustangs finally picked-up a result. Saint Mary’s was no slouch either. The Gaels played Big West North Division favorite UCSB to a scoreless draw and beat South Division favorite CSUN 2-1. 

Cal Poly is now (1-4-0) on the season and next plays this Saturday night at San Diego State, before returning to SLO County to play CSU Bakersfield at the Paso Robles Horse Park on Saturday morning, September 23rd. That day should be fun with a soccer game in North County in the morning and a football game in the afternoon. 

Photos by Owen Main. For a gallery of all photos, click here. 

The 2017 Cal Poly Rodeo will be known for bucking a Friday night rainout and rebounding for a hugely successful Saturday finals. 

The rodeo venue and ensuing set-up at Spanos Stadium was almost as much of a story prior to the rodeo as the event itself. Rodeo coach Ben Londo and the students on the Cal Poly Rodeo Team began planning just about a year ago to the historic move from the rodeo grounds at Cal Poly to the 11,000-plus seat Alex G. Spanos Stadium. 

The massive effort it took to get the surface in and out of the stadium has been pretty well-documented. The Tribune’s Joe Johnston did a nice time lapse here. 

Here are two images. One was taken Saturday night during the rodeo. The second was less than 48 hours later.

Saturday night:

Spanos Stadium was in good shape by Saturday evening. By Owen Main

Was truly impressed by how the field at spanos looked after being covered for 72 hours. Here's what it looked like this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/z9bhaAXHM7

— fansmanship (@fansmanship) April 10, 2017

So what about the rodeo?

This was the second rodeo I’ve covered. Having done it before was absolutely helpful in thinking about the shots I wanted to get and my favorite events — though they’re all pretty action-packed. The action in a rodeo is some of the most intense of any sport or event I’ve photographed.

Being a sports junkie growing up, I always watched bull riding when it came on ESPN or whatever regional sports network existed back then. Like my first hockey game, seeing a rodeo in-person for the first time was an eye-opener. Things moved faster. The participants were bigger, stronger, and tougher than I imagined. No matter the event, the synchronicity of contestant and animal still fascinates me. 

If you haven’t seen a rodeo in-person, I definitely recommend you put it on the list of things to do next year. Just go and check it out.

Because I am a fan of systems and figuring out how things work, this particular event really peaked my interest. How were they going to get the arena and then the animals into the stadium and back out in such a short amount of time? Very carefully and very efficiently, it turned out. 

Here’s a quick run-down of the events, from the perspective of someone who is a total novice to the sport. Here’s a link to something that describes it in more technical/complete terms than I ever could. 

Bareback Riding

The riding events include bareback and saddle bronc riding and also bull riding. Bareback comes first and saddle bronc and bull riding were toward the end. 

Falls are a part of riding and some of the moments captured in time, to me, really illustrate how much of a punishment these athletes have to be willing to take. 

Hanging on tight! By Owen Main

This is kind of how I feel most Wednesdays… . Also, hanging on tight. By Owen Main

Steer wrestling

Also called “bulldogging,” this is by far the toughest event. Participants have to catch a steer running full speed, jump off the side of the the horse, and basically tackle the steer. After getting the animal to stop, they must put it on its back. It looks hard and it’s probably harder than it looks.

Sometimes I make this my screen saver just to remember how tough I am not. By Owen Main

I feel like maybe the next Avenger should be a steer wrestler by day or something? By Owen Main

Breakaway roping

The breakaway roping is one of the women’s individual event. Basically, you lasso the cow around the neck and, when tension’s applied, the rope breaks away. You’ve gotta be handy with a lasso and confident to win this one. You’ll know a crowd hasn’t seen a lot of rodeos when they gasp at the sight of the first contestant’s rope breaking.

Seems like to be a good roper, you’ve got to be decisive. By Owen Main

Calf roping

This one starts like the breakaway roping, but the rope doesn’t break. A cowboy’s horse holds the rope steady and the calf in-place while the cowboy jumps off with another rope in his mouth. He basically cleans the calf off the ground, puts it on his back, and then ties its legs together. Everyone waits 6 seconds in case the calf thinks it can kick out.

The part where they pick the calf up is really a power lifting move — and an impressive one. 

Calf roping isn’t just about roping. By Owen Main

Team Roping

Team roping is when a pair of cowboys rope a steer around the neck and back feet respectively. That’s about all I’ve got for this one, except to say roping a steer’s back feet seems like it would be harder (impossible) than they make it look.

Barrel Racing

Barrel racing is a women’s event that shows a horse’s agility as much as the rider’s. A horse must circle three barrels and bolt back toward the start. Since there isn’t a lot of time for a horse to get up to full speed, mud and dirt go flying at every turn. Think of it as a sort of shuttle drill for horse and rider. High intensity from the rider and powerful horse movements are the fun part of this event.

Saddle Bronc Riding

Saddle broncs give you a good idea of how much harder it is to do without a saddle, since that’s all you’ve seen up ’til this point. You really don’t want to be in the horses’ way once you jump off though. 

This is what I think of as a classic rodeo photo. The Bronc and rider. By Owen Main

Bull Riding

The last event is definitely the most dangerous. Dudes strap on a helmet that looks like a cross between a deep-sea diving helmet and hockey goalie mask and get on the back of a 1,500 pound beast. One or two of those bulls wasn’t having ANY of it and threw the rider off immediately. When it goes well, it can be a sight to behold.

(My favorite photo from the evening below)

Bull riding ain’t no joke. This one had huge hops. By Owen Main

Extra points

So the event itself is fast-paced. The announcers do a decent job of keeping everyone abreast of what’s happening in a drawl that is nearly auctioneer-level. When there was drama, you knew. When someone is struggling, he got the crowd to cheer. Preparation for the rodeo takes months and years and then it all goes down in eight to fifteen seconds. In that way, I guess a rodeo competitor is kind of like a sprinter.

After the rodeo was fun too. There were motorcycle jumpers and a few bands playing a concert. 

How can you argue with a motorcycle with fireworks coming out the back doing a backflip? Nothing but smiles from fans as the night wound down. By Owen Main

One last look at Spanos Stadium as the sun set on the first Poly Royal Rodeo there. By Owen Main

The aftermath

When they announced the rodeo in Spanos, my first thought was “uh oh.” The football field was drenched and slippery the last time they played a game there and unlike many football surfaces, soccer is also played there. In fact, there is supposed to be a soccer match at Spanos this Saturday — less than a week after the temporary rodeo surface/dirt was removed.

I stopped by on Monday and, by the looks of it, I don’t know if there will be ANY problem playing that soccer game on Saturday or the spring football game one week after that. The field looks a little yellow where it was covered, but it also looks like there isn’t any significant indentation or other problem that would cause the surface itself to not recover quickly. I guess the next few days will tell.

Cal Poly said all along that the filed conversion company was good. I was skeptical since it hadn’t been done at Spanos before, but it from a 100-yard-away visual check, it seemed OK. If I were the university or athletic department, it seems like there would be no reason not to have it at Spanos again next year. Rodeo coach Ben Londo alluded to as much in this Tribune article. 

Did you go to the rodeo? What were your favorite parts? Is Poly Royal now the best college rodeo in the United States?

The last event Alex G. Spanos Stadium hosted was a wet, muddy mess. In December, Cal Poly’s football team hosted San Diego in an NCAA FCS playoff game. For three hours before the game, it poured. Rain came down in buckets. The field was as saturated and slippery as it ever had been. 

On Friday, the Poly Royal Rodeo — the Cal Poly Rodeo Team’s signature event — will take center stage at the University’s largest venue (capacity for football and soccer: 11,075). The chance of rain? 100 percent.

Somehow I think the animals won’t be too worried about the rain and, while it might deter some fans, the novelty of both the rodeo in Spanos and the rodeo in the rain could make it an event people talk about for years. 

Bulldogging. Not for the faint of heart. By Owen Main

It was already big

In past years, the Poly Royal Rodeo has brought in around 6,000 people, though most of those were standing-room only. Moving to Spanos allows people to be more comfortable and have more room. It should also test exactly how many people want to come see the rodeo in San Luis Obispo and surrounding areas. 

Field conversion underway

The Spanos Stadium field started its grand conversion Wednesday night and at around noon on Thursday, the dirt surface seemed mostly in-place with some of the fencing and chutes still to be put in-place. Heavy equipment and a specialized crew will work to make the surface manageable for the animals and competitors Thursday night before the rains come on Thursday evening.

Bronc riding is way more intense in real life. By Owen Main

Rain rain, go away…

As of Thursday afternoon, the chance of rain on Friday was 100 percent, according to weather.com. The showers were forecast to start on Wednesday night and be at their heaviest in the 8-10 hours prior to the 7pm Friday start through about 9:00 on Friday evening. 

But the show must go on and it would take a lot of rain to put a damper on a historic event on-campus. The Cal Poly rodeo is already one of the largest college rodeos west of the Mississippi, but if they fill Spanos Stadium or get close to it, the Poly Royal Rodeo could stand alone as the largest. 

Drying out Saturday

Saturday evening should be a lot drier for fans. The action starts again at Spanos at 5:30pm with a concert directly following the competition. 

If you’re interested or want tickets, you can click here for more information. From the looks of it (as of Thursday afternoon), tickets are still available in all price ranges. Chair-back seats go for $35 and General Admission is $15-$20. Kids 10 and under are free.

Oh, and don’t forget to bring a poncho. 

The countdown begins… https://t.co/7QQ3fV4bTA pic.twitter.com/FsLLN9cx9b

— Cal Poly (@CalPoly) April 6, 2017

Spanos being transformed for Poly Royal Rodeo. Largest and best college rodeo on earth.Fri & Sat nines. Go Mustangs pic.twitter.com/dODZ1v2EJU

— Don Oberhelman (@TheMustangWay) April 6, 2017

Spanos current status. Rodeo starts in about 30 hours. #calpolynow pic.twitter.com/LEwyEzGDRW

— fansmanship (@fansmanship) April 6, 2017

It was a familiar formula for Cal Poly under somewhat unique circumstances for one of their stars.

After giving up an early lead, Cal Poly rallied late in the first half and dominated the second half en route to a convincing 38-16 win over San Diego.

“A good character win for us,” said Cal Poly head coach Tim Walsh. “I’m really excited about the way Dano’s running the offense.”

That offense finished the game by outscoring San Diego 28-3 over the past two quarters and six seconds. Graves and co. dominated possession throughout the second half, leaving the result in little doubt.

A new addition

On Friday night, Joe Protheroe’s second daughter, Jordyn, was born. Protheroe’s wife made him go home from the hospital to sleep. Less than 24 hours later, the junior preseason All-American rushed for 132 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Protheroe described picking up his older daughter before going home — being a family guy and all. He also talked about the difference he feels Cal Poly’s offseason strength and conditioning program has made for him and his team.

Graves on-track

Dano Graves has started the season with a bang. After leading the team with 140 yards rushing at Nevada, Graves rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown and passed for 130 yards and two touchdowns without committing a turnover.

Over the team’s first two games, Cal Poly has averaged 464.5 yards of total offense and turned the ball over just one time total and winning time of possession convincingly in both contests. To remain successful, Cal Poly must continue to win those parts of the game.

Though Graves has been used somewhat heavily over the first two games, he doesn’t want to slow down. Asked what he thought of being able to rest on the sidelines for the final drive, he said that he’d rather be in the game. His competitiveness is one of the great things about him, but — as with any Cal Poly quarterback — Graves’ ability to stay healthy all season will be really interesting to keep track of. It always is.

Defense on the attack

Though they tallied just a single sack against San Diego, Cal Poly’s defense is putting more and more pressure on their opponent, bringing pressure much more often than last season.

The question I forgot to ask Walsh post-game was about the impact of Payam Saadat in terms of defensive scheme and effectiveness.

The additional pressure from Cal Poly’s defense can be quantified with five quarterback hurries against Torero quarterback Anthony Lawrence, including at least a few on key third-down plays.

There were no fumbles or interceptions in this game for either team, but Cal Poly gave themselves a few chances to pick balls off. While the fact remains that this team has yet to force any turnovers, I would guess based on what I’ve seen that the Mustangs should be able to force more than the eight total turnovers they forced in all of 2015.

Next up

This week, the Mustangs will go on the road to face top-10 South Dakota State. When I went to Brookings in 2014, the Jackrabbits had just opened up their fieldhouse and were working on getting started constructing their new stadium. Saturday’s game will be South Dakota State’s second game at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, which looks beautiful.

To see the difference, take a look at some photos from the old stadium here.

Then click this link

Photos from the 2014 game at the old stadium here.

To avoid getting pounced-on early, as they were two years ago, Cal Poly will need to control the ball offensively and come away with touchdowns to finish drives. They also need to be able to maintain collective focus in what could possibly be a more hostile environment than their season-opening game at Nevada. If they do that and limit turnovers, they will be right where they want to be — in the game in the fourth quarter against a very, very good opponent.

Photos by Owen Main

Man, there was a lot going on last Saturday. Between homecoming, parents and family weekend, a logging competition, Alumni luncheons, soccer games, and myriad other events on-campus, I feel like one human could not possibly partake in everything.

I tried though.

Maybe more than other games, the loss to Portland State was really a game I can best describe in snap-shots. I may have missed a few, but here are a few key ones from where I stood and sat.

Chris Brown didn’t play. Neither did Dano Graves

Prior to the start of the game, it became evident that Chris Brown was not playing due to an undisclosed injury. Dano Graves has been on ice this year, apparently redshirting during what could have been his final year of eligibility. Instead of burning that redshirt, Tim Walsh chose to go with a true freshman at quarterback in Khaleel Jenkins. The last time Cal Poly started a freshman quarterback? I don’t know. It wasn’t anytime in my recent memory.

It was only 6-0, somehow

Joe Protheroe fumbles Cal Poly’s first play from scrimmage Saturday night. By Owen Main

I’m not sure how, but Cal Poly managed to fumble the opening kickoff and their first play from scrimmage, score a touchdown on their third possession, and take a 7-6 lead.

Actually, I do know how: their defense was well-prepared to start the game. Cal Poly’s defense generally has had really great game-plans schematically to shut down opposing offenses. Because of their great play and holding Portland State to a field goal, they just about nullified the first two miscues.

The 16-play, 78-yard drive seemed to do a lot for the Cal Poly bench and probably for freshman quarterback Khaleel Jenkins’ confidence. Cal Poly seemed to have stolen all the momentum right back with just under four minutes left in the first quarter.

Jenkins breaks one off

The juke was amazing, but I’m sure he’d give it back for a few of those fumbles. By Owen Main

Khaleel Jenkins showed why Tim Walsh felt good starting him before the first quarter was over. After the Vikings took a 13-7 lead, Jenkins capped a 75 yard drive with a 50-yard dash down the left sideline. It was the first of three long touchdown plays Cal Poly would execute on the night and gave fans a glimpse of what the freshman from San Diego can do. On the play, he put a move on a Portland State defender that just wasn’t fair and was down the sidelines in a flash. There’s a lot to look forward to there.

That second quarter

Tim Walsh said in his radio post-game interview that the Mustangs should have taken much more control of the game in the first half. He certainly meant the second quarter. In that quarter, the Mustang defense intercepted Vikings quarterback Alex Kuresa and held Portland State on fourth down on back-to-back possessions.

Against a team that has scored 115 points in their past two games, the defensive stands throughout the first half were a big deal.

What did the offense do to capitalize? Not much.

Cal Poly went four-and-out coming off the interception. After the defense once again held the Vikings, Khaleel Jenkins and Cal Poly actually put a nice drive together. Thirteen plays and 79 yards later, the Mustangs had the ball at the 8 yard-line, poised to go up 21-13. Instead, Jenkins fumbled the ball and the second quarter went by without a score on either side. When Cal Poly scored first in the third quarter, they should have been going up by two scores. Instead Portland State remained in striking-distance.

The penalty

If there was one play that really took the wind out of Cal Poly’s sails, it was probably a late hit by their defensive leader. Tu’uta Inoke. With the score tied at 28 early in the fourth quarter, the Vikings were driving. On a third and one at Cal Poly’s 27 yard-line, Cal Poly managed to sack Alex Kuresa, but Inoke came down on the pile a split-second late. Two plays after the personal foul penalty, Kuresa threw a touchdown pass to put the Vikings up for the first time in the second half.

It’s likely Portland State would have kicked a filed goal in that situation on fourth down, but they only won by a late field goal in the end. You can never put a whole game on one player or one play, but that was a really tough penalty for Cal Poly’s defense to take in that situation.

More Kyle Lewis?

Kyle Lewis has proven to be a big-play threat on the edge for Cal Poly’s triple option offense. By Owen Main

With injuries throughout the year to big-play threats like Joe Protheroe and Chris Brown, one has to wonder if it’s time to start to feature Kyle Lewis more. Lewis fumbled the opening kickoff, but somewhat made up for it by catching a 57-yard touchdown pass and blazing down the near sideline for a 29-yard touchdown run. Overall, Lewis had just six offensive touches, but that number might need to be around 10 for Cal Poly to stay balanced and explosive.

Speaking of the touchdown pass, the trick-play was pretty sweet. It came at just the right time. Props to Saga Tuitele, who had a really good game calling plays for his freshman quarterback.

Kuresa’s legs

Staying on the theme of props — big ones go to Alex Kuresa for what he did with his legs. After getting knocked-down a number of times in the first half, the Portland State quarterback was able to scramble and make big play after big play against Cal Poly’s defense. Along with his 232 yards and two touchdowns passing, the junior rushed for over 100 yards and two more touchdowns. In all, Kuresa accounted for four of the five touchdowns the Vikings scored.

Cal Poly’s defense tends to do a really good job of taking the other team’s base offense away.

Portland State had rushed for 465 and 368 yards in the past two weeks against relatively good teams. Cal Poly held the Vikings to just 154 yards on 42 attempts, including many Kuresa scrambles. Aside from the quarterback, Portland State netted just 53 yards on the ground on 24 carries.

The numbers game

Cal Poly ran 21 more plays than Portland State and held the ball for about 10 more minutes than the Vikings. The Mustangs out-gained Portland State by 150 yards for the game, but committed half as many fumbles in this one game that they committed all of last season.

Khaleel Jenkins showed some promise starting his first game. He rushed for 93 yards including a spectacular touchdown scamper, but his three fumbles turned out to really be the difference. Mustang fans know there will be growing pains going forward as Jenkins gets more experience. Jenkins is the first true freshman quarterback to start a game in as long as I can remember and his development will absolutely be the future of Cal Poly football.

Since playoffs aren’t really in play at this point, it’s natural to start to peek toward next year — even with over a month to go. A quarterback battle is already brewing in my head. Maybe it’ll stay there. Maybe it’s better that way.

For now, in the present, the Mustangs will try to go on a run to finish their season above .500. It won’t be easy. Six of their first seven opponents have been either FBS or top-25 FCS teams. Their eighth, Southern Utah, has moved up into the top-25 and will be the 7th top-25 or better team the Mustangs play in their first eight games. If you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. Cal Poly has had their chances this season and despite some excruciatingly close games, hasn’t come out on the right side of their must-win games early in the schedule.

Five games remain.

This wasn’t a UCSB game, but Cal Poly and their fans hope they can celebrate like they did during this game. By Owen Main

Blue and Green. They go together like oil and vinegar. Peanut butter and ketchup. Toothpaste and apple juice.

Bounce-back kids

Both UCSB and Cal Poly kicked-off Big West North action with losses on Wednesday. The Mustangs fell on a golden goal to UC Davis in overtime and the Gauchos, playing with 10 men for most of the match, were upended by Sacramento State 5-2.

So, which team will bounce-back?

Who scores first?

This match will feature great 1-1 and offense-defense matchups. Most notably, Cal Poly’s defense is much-improved from a season ago and UCSB has the Big West’s most potent attack.

Cal Poly’s attacking players can also be potent though, and they better find a way to score first. Cal Poly’s Justin Dhillon is the only player on the current roster to have notched a goal in the Blue-Green rivalry, and he has three of them. Dhillon, who was a top-40 national recruit coming out of high school, has been nursing a sore hamstring while still getting comfortable in new coach Steve Sampson’s system. Cal Poly will need him to provide attacking support and smart midfield decision-making.

For UCSB, Nick DePuy scored four goals just last season against the Mustangs. The UCSB junior has scored nearly a goal per game this year. He’s an imposing presence in the middle and alongside freshman Geoffrey Acheampong, DePuy has thrived once again this season.

Mustang seniors

Cal Poly’s senior class, which includes at least four players with professional aspirations, finds itself in a familiar position. In each of the past few years, Cal Poly has seen a decent start to Big West Conference play fizzle into weak finishes to the season. There are only five more games for the Mustangs to prove they belong in the tournament and to get right for a possible playoff run.

The play of the entire team will make a big difference. This senior class has been through a lot over the past 18 months and nothing would be sweeter for them than a home win against the team from Goleta.

Seriously, Nick DePuy has been amazing this season. By Owen Main

DePuy dominance

Did I mention that Nick DePuy is a dominator? The 6′ 4″ junior has 12 goals in 14 games so far this year after tallying 10 goals in 2014. DePuy gave an infamous “quiet” sign to the Cal Poly student section after scoring last year. He’d love nothing more than to do it again on Saturday night.

UCSB has a lot of players to watch who are dangerous and talented. Acheampong is among the best, but DePuy is the guy who always seems to be in the right place at the right time. Look out for number 6 in blue.

Youth and depth

UCSB has a good baseline of young players. Their starting lineup at Sac State included seven underclassmen and just one senior. Cal Poly starts four seniors and, while veterans of this game like DePuy won’t be phased at all, playing in front of 11,075 (or more) screaming fans can have an effect on players who are new to this game. Let me be clear, this goes for players on both sides.

Who wants to be a hero?

I had a high school football coach who used to ask this question for big games.

When it comes to games in SLO, this is the biggest one. Who’s going to be the hero?

Kori Garcia finally broke-through on Saturday night. By Owen Main

On Saturday night, Cal Poly used 499 yards rushing and 605 yards of total offense to beat Idaho State 58-26 at Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

The numbers are impressive, but what is especially encouraging for Cal Poly fans is the way the Mustangs started each half. Cal Poly opened the game with a 14-0 and 21-7 lead in the first half.

Leading by just 8 points at halftime, the Mustangs scored three touchdowns in the first 7:29 of the second half to put the game out of reach.

Kori Garcia finally broke-out leading Cal Poly with 146 yards on 18 carries and three touchdowns. Chris Brown rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns while also throwing two touchdown passes. Both of those touchdowns were to Willie Tucker, who now has three touchdown receptions in the past two games and has re-established himself as a weapon other teams much game-plan for.

Cal Poly finishes a brutal six-game stretch on Saturday when they visit Eastern Washington in Cheney.

Photos by Owen Main. To view photos, click here. 

After tying a top-15 Cal team on Sunday afternoon, Cal Poly used an early Elise Krieghoff goal to manage another tie, this time with BYU. The Cougars, who came into the game ranked sixth nationally and third in the RPI, ripped-off 31 shots, but only four on-goal in the tie.

Krieghoff’s goal was the 48th of her career.

BYU answered with a goal in the 20th minute, but neither team could find the net over the final 90 minutes of the match (including overtime). Alyssa Giannetti made three saves for Cal Poly, which put eight shots on goal themselves.

Cal Poly has now played at least four top-15 teams in the nation and will complete their non-conference schedule against Pepperdine on Sunday in Malibu. Effectively ranked 27th in the nation, Pepperdine received the second-most points in the coaches poll for teams outside the top-25 this week.

Cal Poly’s record is now (4-2-4).

Photos by Owen Main – To view all photos, click here

The Big Sky Conference will implement replay in football and men’s basketball for each sport’s upcoming season. The change means that Cal Poly, who is a member of the conference for football only, will bring replay to home games at Alex G. Spanos stadium beginning in the Fall.

“Not only is replay becoming more prevalent in the rule book, but there is also an expectation that replay will be used when fans watch a game on TV or attend a game,’’ said Big Sky Conference commissioner, Doug Fullerton. “We put a very high-quality product of college athletics on the field, and having replay for our officials will only increase the experience for fans, coaches and student-athletes. I commend the presidents and administrators of our universities for understanding the importance of this technology, and investing the resources to make this a reality.’’

Replay officials will travel to be a part of the same officiating crew throughout the season, mostly for the sake of cohesion. The technology will be provided throughout the conference by DVSport.

The replay technology will be utilized for all home games at Alex G. Spanos Stadium, including the Mustangs’ lone home non-conference game this season against Northern Iowa. That game, on September 19th, is the Mustangs’ home opener.

I reached out to find out details about what the cost of the replay system is at each site. I’ll update the post if/when we get more information.

A former national team coach, Steve Sampson instantly becomes the highest profile coach in the Cal Poly athletic department. By Owen Main

Cal Poly athletics made a big splash on Thursday afternoon, when they announced the signing of former United States Men’s National Team and LA Galaxy head coach, Steve Sampson, to be their men’s soccer coach.

In a press conference held in the President’s Suite at Alex G. Spanos Stadium, Director of Athletics Don Oberhelman announced Sampson in front of media, fans, and a group of players from this past season’s Cal Poly team.

“I absolutely am so excited,” said Sampson. “I can’t emphasize that enough. Everything you see with respect to the Mustang Way — all those things I stand for. All those things I want to help to grow and develop at Cal Poly… . ”

For his players, he will have a high expectation coming out of the gate.

“We have an incredible group of young men coming back,” said Sampson. “We expect to raise the standards”

Sampson, who has spent the last few years directing the Steve Sampson Soccer Academy at the Global Sports Institute in Southern California, said that it wasn’t a decision that required a ton of consternation.

“When I was approached with the opportunity of coaching here at Cal Poly, I think it took about five seconds for me to respond with my high level of interest,” said Sampson.

Sampson last coached in 2006 in MLS. His LA Galaxy won both the MLS Cup and the US Open cup in 2005. His influence in the soccer world since then has been felt mostly through his academy but his connection to Cal Poly is an easy one to dissect. Paul Holocher, who resigned as Cal Poly’s coach just days prior to the start of last season’s training camp, played on Sampson’s 1989 co-national champion team at Santa Clara, where Sampson coached for eight years before becoming a national team assistant and eventually the head coach.

Cal Poly has other connections. Google “Steve Sampson Cal Poly” and you’ll find that Sampson played a role in Chase Minter’s decision to come to Cal Poly. GSI, which his academy was a part of, has a local component, including holding sessions in Arroyo Grande. Matt LaGrassa and many other players on the team have trained together at his academy during past off-seasons as well, so there is a definite familiarity and the move for Sampson to San Luis Obispo might not be quite as drastic as some would think.

He told the story on Thursday about how his son graduated from the school of architecture at Cal Poly, and of how he fell in love with the area years ago.

“During his junior year, when we were going around and visiting schools, we came to Cal Poly,” said Sampson

“We actually came to Cal Poly on WOW week, and I thought, ‘WOW,’ what does that mean?… We actually had the opportunity to sit-in on a speech by the then-president of the university. The president spoke, students spoke, and he turned to me and said ‘I love this place, this is where I want to be.’ … We fell in love over those six years of following my son and his progress here at the Univeristy. We fell in love with the school. We fell in love with the student body. We fell in love with the soccer program. We fell in love with the community.”

Don Oberhelman recognized a number of people in the athletic department for their role in search for a new coach and eventual decision to hire Sampson, but also included a number of past players in his opening remarks including former Mustangs Mackenzie Pridham, George Malki, Patrick Siegler, and Anthony Grillo.

“It is clear, in my opinion, that we have some of the best soccer fans in the United States,” said Oberhelman. “So, why shouldn’t we have one of the most accomplished head coaches in the history of the United States lead our program?”

Sampson has big goals when it comes to continuing to raise interest in the program not just on-campus, but around the community as well.

“We have some of the best fan base in the country,” said Sampson. “We’re not only going to try to get 11,000 [fans] here for the Santa Barbara game. We’re going to work with the community to get lots of people out here — not just from the student body, but we’re going to dive into that community. We’re going to embrace the Hispanic community, we’re going to embrace the soccer community, the Anglo community, and we’re going to make them know what this soccer program is all about. We want to embrace them such that they come out and support this team all throughout the Fall season.”

Details of Sampson’s contract were not disclosed pending final review.

“It’s more than a year,” quipped the coach. “More than two years.”

On the field over the past few seasons, Cal Poly has expressed an emphasis on a controlled, possession-oriented style of play. While they’ve been successful at establishing their style and scoring more goals overall, success in the Big West Conference has not come as easily. Last season, Cal Poly failed to make the conference tournament, finishing in last place in the Big West’s northern division.

Sampson talked about the possibility of being a little more direct and La Grassa concurred.

“I think all three coaches have been slightly different, maybe, on styles of play and that kind of thing, but for the most part they all want to play good socccer  and they’re smart enough coaches to know that your style of play should enhance your players and the type of players we have are built for a possession-type game. I think it will be interesting, there will definitely be changes, but it’s exciting.”

La Grassa anticipates training sessions ramping up in the presence of their new coach as well.

“Any coaching change is going to bring a lot of new energy, spots are open, training sessions are intense,” said LaGrassa. “But then to have somebody of his quality… I think knowing that if you can impress Steve on a daily basis and he thinks you’re a professional player, then you’ve got a really good shot of becoming a professional player, and that’s what we all aspire to be. That’s really something special that brings a different type of life to a training session.”

Sampson seems to have some energy after his hiatus from being a coach.

Sampson’s coaching experience has led him to a pair of national championships — one with UCLA as an assistant and one at Santa Clara as a head coach.

“When you’ve done it all, you want to do it again,” he said. “It’s quite a challenge. I would love to [win a national title] on three different campuses. There is so much opportunity here and like I said earlier, I love nothing more than being on that soccer player with these players.”

“I took a little bit of time off after I left the Galaxy. To be honest, my president passed away for the LA Galaxy and that was very difficult for me, and I took a little bit of time off and I wanted to reconnect with family and reconnect with the community. But I have this incredible, burning desire right now to get on that field and start winning.”

Ed. Note – The entirety of the comments from Sampson and players Matt LaGrassa and Kip Colvey following the press conference will be available via a podcast, scheduled to post on Friday.