Cal Poly freshman Justin Dhillon (11) celebrates after his first-half goal on Friday night. By Owen Main

The old saying goes, “a tie is like kissing your sister.” Cal Poly and UCSB learned how a Blue-Green tie truly feels, ending knotted at one goal apiece on Friday night in front of a sold-out 11,075 fans at Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

In a hotly-contested match, Cal Poly scored early, gave up a goal at the end of the first half, and held-on for a 1-1 tie.

The game featured big plays by freshmen on both sides. Cal Poly’s Justin Dhillon began the scoring in the ninth minute. The tallest Mustang on the pitch, Dhillon headed a George Malki corner kick past UCSB goalkeeper Josh McNeely to give Cal Poly an early 1-0 lead. The Mustangs would give up the lead when UCSB’s Achille Campion found the back of the net in the final minute of the first half to tie the score. It would be the final goal of the match for either side.

“It was incredible,” said Dhillon of his first Blue-Green Rivalry experience as a player. “The fans here are awesome. I love representing my school and especially scoring a goal in front of them was unbelievable.”

With a relatively small team, Cal Poly’s corner kicks don’t usually get sent straight into the box, but Dhillon, the tallest field player on the pitch for the Mustangs, took advantage. The play that led to Dhillon’s goal was contrary to  how Cal Poly generally wants to play.

“We wanted to move the ball and the reality of tonight is that we had a very very difficult time communicating with the players on the field with all the noise,” said Holocher, who couldn’t give usual instructions on corner kicks. “So, for whatever reason, we played more direct than we normally do.

“It was a great goal. Really well-placed corner by George and [Dhillon] headed it down which is great. It’s good for him as a freshman to get a goal in this kind of environment.”

Dhillon’s ball squirted past the UCSB keeper and he and the team sprinted toward the Mustang Manglers section.

“George crossed the ball off a corner and I headed it home,” said Dhillon. “I just took off on a full sprint. I may have been tired but all that kind of slipped away, I was so excited, the adrenalyne was rushing through everything and it was unbelievable.”

With the tie, UCSB failed to win for the first time in 2013 Big West play. The Gauchos came into the game on a seven-game winning streak.

“They are number-one in our conference,” said Dhillon of the Gauchos.  “They are a very good team and I think we put up a good performance against them and ended up being the first [team] they’ve not won against in nine games.”

Two of Cal Poly’s seniors – George Malki and Chris Bernardi – team-up in their final home version of the Blue-Green Rivalry. By Owen Main

Holocher gave credit to UCSB after the game when asked how good they really are.

“I think they’re good enoguh to make a run in the NCAA playoffs for sure,” said Holocher. “I think they can beat anybody. They’ve got enough good, strong, big, physical individual players that make things difficult.”

For eight Cal Poly seniors, this was their final home edition of the Blue-Green Rivalry. It left some with a bitter taste.

“I’m definitely hurting inside, but I know my team and myself left everything on the field tonight and some things just didn’t go our way,” said Mackenzie Pridham, the Big West’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year and current goals leader.

Home fans and the Mustangs themselves were poised for a game-winning goal and a raucous student section having an opportunity to rush the field. Instead, fans had to settle for the tie.

“I kind of feel empty, in a way,” said Malki. “I’m glad we came out with a tie, but I’m disappointed that we didn’t come out with a win.”

Freshmen, though, may have played the two biggest roles in the game and cemented their roles in this matchup for years to come. Dhillon scored his second career goal and on the UCSB side, the freshman goalie, McNeely made his impact felt as well.

“Their goalkeeper had an unbelievable game,” said Pridham. “In my opinion he came up with four or five big-time game-changing saves. He had three or four on me, one on Ari, and a copule other big-time ones. He was on it.”

Cal Poly and UCSB play again on November 9th in the regular-season finale in Isla Vista. The game will be televised on Fox Sports West.

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Mackenzie Pridham blasts the game-winning goal on Sunday afternoon vs. Yale. By Owen Main

The first Cal Poly soccer match I went to this year was a dud. The Mustangs looked listless, didn’t create many good chances, and lost to Gonzaga in overtime. It looked like it was happening all over again.

On Sunday, it looked nearly like a carbon copy of the Gonzaga match, except Yale took advantage of Cal Poly’s mistakes and went ahead 2-0 at halftime. While they had the run of play, they used a lot of less-effective long passes and were to crack the middle part of the final third of the field. A defensive mistake by Cal Poly and a timely counter fr

Connor Drechsler put Cal Poly within 2-1 early in the second half on a cross from Chris Bernardi. Bernardi, who comes off the bench for Holocher, has looked like the fastest, most effective Mustang with the best first touch in the two games I’ve been to this season. In short, he puts a lot of pressure on defenders. Dreschler has three career goals on only three career shots on goal.

During the final 20 minutes of the second half, Yale did everything they could to legally bleed the clock. As Cal Poly’s offense started to turn up the pressure, two Bulldogs went down with what seemed like leg cramps. They subbed players every few minutes. They took their time on free kicks.

But in the end, it wasn’t enough.

With less than 90 seconds left in the match, sophomore Matt LaGrassa fired a left-footed blast into the right side of the net to tie the match. Yale’s collective hands went to their heads. Mustangs players climbed briefly onto the barrier with the stands in front of the Mustang Manglers section.

In overtime, Cal Poly persevered. Mackenzie Pridham, who had played a very physical second half, finally found himself free and quickly buried the game-winner past Yale keeper Blake Brown in the 100th minute to cap the comeback.

Chase Minter celebrates with Matt LaGrassa (20) after LaGrassa’s game-tying goal. By Owen Main

The final 55 minutes of the match– the second half and overtime — were a dominant display by Cal Poly. As discussed in my soccer preview, if the Mustangs are going to have any chance at the Big West title, careless mistakes at the back line cannot happen. A team like UCSB, Davis, or Cal State Northridge will be nearly impossible to come back on from 2-0 down in a game like Sunday’s.

I always find Paul Holocher’s comments about style of play interesting. While Yale consistently played in the second half with 8 players behind the ball defensively, Cal Poly did their best to keep the field open, maintain possession, and use the whole pitch.

I would rather lose trying to play this way than win in another way. I think our fans appreciate how we get things done as much as the outcome,” said Holocher.

In other words, the team needs to get better at the style of play, particularly with turnovers deep in the defensive zone. Holocher’s team will play two games in Colorado next week before starting conference play.

Photos by Owen Main

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Pridham’s Goal – Video

For Paul Holocher’s Cal Poly men’s soccer team, a new system this season has led to a slew of Big West Conference honors. Now, the Mustangs will face a new challenge: success in the Big West Conference Tournament.

Cal Poly junior Mackenzie Pridham was named 2012 Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Photo by Owen Main

Junior forward Mackenzie Pridham led the Mustangs in goals (11), goals in conference (8) and game-winning goals (6). Pridham’s 11 goals mark just the third time in 19 Division-1 seasons that a Cal Poly player has reached double-digits in goals. In doing so, he was named Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Led by Pridham, Cal Poly’s scoring attack has notched 24 goals and has only been shut-out 3 times.

From 2011 to 2012, Pridham’s goal tally improved from two to 11. Part of the reason might be due to hair choice. I didn’t even recognize Pridham in this picture from the Tribune, taken I think last season. In it, Pridham is sporting some soccer-locks. I’d compare him with some like-afro’d professional player, but I can’t think of one right now. This year, Pridham has gone clean-cut, maybe more aerodynamic, and definitely more successful.

Cal Poly had several other all-conference selections. Joining Pridham on the first-team is sophomore defender Nolan Moore. Cal Poly averaged only 1 goal per game allowed this season with a relatively young defense, anchored by Moore.

Junior George Malki and senior Benny Estes were selected to the All-Conference Second Team. Malki scored four goals during the year an tallied 11 points. His tying goal at UCSB with less than 2 minutes left sent the game into overtime, where Pridham beat UCSB with a golden goal. Malki also scored the game-winner at home to seal the Mustangs’ 1-0 victory marking the first season sweep of UCSB since the late 90’s.

Senior midfielder Chris Gaschen, this week’s conference Offensive Player of the Week, and freshman Wade Hamilton, this week’s conference Defensive Player of the Week, were Cal Poly’s selections for Honorable Mention All-Conference. Gaschen finished the season third in the Big West with seven assists. Hamilton earned Defensive Player of the Week honors twice this season and was one of two freshman who earned an All-Conference selection, joining Freshman of the Year Ema Boateng from UCSB.

Chris Gaschen (left) and George Malki (right) played important roles in Cal Poly’s surge to qualify for the Big West Tournament, which starts tomorrow. Photo by Owen Main

Pridham’s selection as Offensive Player of the Year may have been a nod to the Big West’s North Division. Pridham was not the top goal-scorer in the conference. That honor went to CSUN’s Savi Leg-Ari, who earned Second-Team All Conference honors. The North Division sported all four teams with point totals that were as good or better than the second-team in the South Division — Cal State Fullerton.

Cal Poly hits the road tomorrow for a Big West Tournament Semifinal matchup in Northridge. The other semifinal is between UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton, in Davis. The highest seed of the two winning teams will host the tournament final on Saturday at 1PM. There is one possible scenario that would include Cal Poly hosting Cal State Fullerton at Spanos Stadium at 1PM, preceding the 6:05 football game vs. Idaho State, also at Spanos.

A Cal Poly sports junkie’s dream…

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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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