Cal Poly sophomore midfielder Christian Enriquez met with his coaches and team today to officially announce his intention to leave the team and school to pursue a professional opportunity. 

Over the weekend, Enriquez posted the following to his Instagram account, thanking teammates and coaches. He has an opportunity it seems, and he’s taking it. 

 

I’m deeply saddened to say I’m leaving Cal Poly, but happy to know the past two years have been filled with growth and relationships with great people. I’ve made some brothers and have made memories I’ll cherish forever. This team is family and I’m blessed to have been part of such a great university and soccer program. When opportunities present themselves they might not come again, & I am excited for what’s next. All the best to my teammates and coaches that have supported unconditionally. #CPMS

A post shared by christian enriquez (@c.enriquez10) on Jan 4, 2018 at 8:39pm PST

That opportunity, Enriquez confirmed with Fansmanship.com, is a USL contract in Portland. The Timbers and T2 (what they call their USL team) are familiar with players from Cal Poly. Goalkeeper Wade Hamilton played there last season and is listed on their roster. 

“I’m leaving because it’s a solid opportunity for me to leave school for and it’s something I’ve been chasing since I was three,” said Enriquez. “Coach Sampson agreed it was the right time for me to leave as well.”

Christian Enriquez scores his first collegiate goal against UCSB in 2016. By Owen Main

As a freshman, Enriquez was the Big West Freshman of the Year, scoring a long goal at home against UCSB and being the centerpiece of Cal Poly’s developing attack under head coach Steve Sampson. During the offseason, Enriquez was invited to train with the U-19 National Team three times. In 2017, he picked up a an early leg injury that limited his time and effectiveness throughout the season. The USL schedule starts toward the end of March, though T2 hasn’t posted a 2018 schedule yet. 

For photos of soccer and more click here. If you just want to contribute to the cause, Venmo @Owen-Main or paypal owen@fansmanship.com. 

With their fourth straight loss on Wednesday night, Cal Poly men’s soccer continued to sit on three points in conference play. If that wasn’t bad enough, UC Davis beat UCSB, which meant that Sacramento State, UC Davis and UCSB are all sitting at 10 points, seven ahead of Cal Poly with just five matches to play. So, what will it take for Cal Poly to make the conference tournament? Let’s examine.

Over the past few years, 14 points has been a virtual lock for the playoffs. But the Big West’s North Division went wild against the South — everyone but Cal Poly — so I would guess that if Cal Poly wants to make it this year, 15 points would be the minimum necessary. 

That means they probably need 12 more points — four victories — over the next 5 games to even have a shot at this thing. 

Two of those games are against UCSB (home and away), two are against UC Davis (home and away), and one is at Sacramento State. 

On Wednesday, Cal Poly continued to push players forward deep into the second half and overtime, even after defender Adam Olsen was shown his second yellow card. The pain of the loss was less in Cal Poly getting zero points. Rather, Sac State’s three points vaulted them to seven ahead of the Mustangs. 

If Cal Poly can get four wins in five matches — I guess I’ve seen crazier things — then they’d probably also have to hope for one of the other teams to go in the tank.

Cal Poly didn’t do themselves any favors in the first four games against the South Division of the Big West, but the South Division didn’t exactly help the Mustangs, taking just five total points against teams that were not Cal Poly in 12 games. 

Cal Poly isn’t mathematically out of it, but if they thought they needed three points on Wednesday night, they know that there aren’t really other options at this stage. On Saturday, they’ll visit Harder Stadium at UCSB and try to fight through fans legally throwing things onto the field to get three points at what is the the toughest environment to play in the Big West. 

Photos by Owen Main.To view more photos, click here. If you just want to contribute to the cause Venmo @Owen-Main or paypal owen@fansmanship.com. 

Nick Carroll got a lot of playing time as a freshman. By Owen Main

On Sunday evening, Nick Carroll scored the first goal of his Cal Poly career. It was an 81st minute goal that gave the Cal Poly men’s soccer program a huge boost, their first win of the season, and a home victory in front of over 5,000 WOW Week participants — incoming freshmen that the team hopes will be the future of Cal Poly soccer fans. 

Carroll was a defender without any goals to his name, so the goal was not a likely one anyway. If you know his story, you know how unlikely it really was. 

Changes at the top

The start to Carroll’s career — the fall of 2014 — was a tumultuous one for Cal Poly men’s soccer. Incumbent coach Paul Holocher left the program days into the start of Fall camp. Carroll, an incoming freshman, found some success under interim coach Phil Ruskin. He started 11 games that season, mostly at left back. For a team that liked to play with attacking wing backs, Carroll’s long runs down the sideline became a staple opposite right back and current professional Kip Colvey. The team’s lack of depth at defender and numerous injuries at the position pressed at least one other freshman into action along the way. The team did what it had to do to stay afloat. A star midfielder played central defender. Just about anyone who wasn’t injured played big minutes.

It wasn’t ideal, but Carroll was getting playing time.

The Mustangs got off to a decent start under Ruskin, but lost four of their final five games in conference and picked up just four points in division play. In December of 2014, Athletic Director Don Oberhelman hired former US Men’s National Team coach Steve Sampson to lead the Cal Poly program. 

Steve Sampson was hired to coach Cal Poly in December of 2014. By Owen Main

Carroll had acquitted himself adequately on the field in 2014, but as the season progressed, things got harder. School work wasn’t a priority.

Neither Carroll or Sampson got into specifics, but both recognized off-field and on-field issues. 

“I made a lot of mistakes,” said Carroll, a Business major with a focus in entrepreneurship. “I put myself in situations I shouldn’t have been in.”

“I let the fact that I was getting playing time [as a freshman] get to my head,” said Carroll. 

As Cal Poly seemed to be weathering the storm, the double whammy of soccer and school was hitting Carroll hard.

“He had some academic issues,” said Sampson. “Like most freshmen, they tend to test the waters on and
off the field. That leads to a lot of life lessons.”

The spring after he was hired, Sampson had seen enough. Carroll had made too many bad decisions, so Sampson made the decision to cut the left back. 

 No soccer

“I told myself that was it for me,” said Carroll, who was no longer a part of the program. He sulked. “My feeling was ‘I hate soccer right now.'”

During what should have been his sophomore season playing the sport he loved, Carroll didn’t play during Fall quarter. But over winter break in 2015, he had an epiphany. At home for the holiday, Carroll sat in his room and couldn’t get the game out of his mind. He confessed to his father how much he missed soccer. They had a long talk. 

Just 19 years old at the time, Carroll realized he really wasn’t ready to give up completely on his soccer dreams. He found out that it wouldn’t be an easy road back.

He contacted Sampson and they talked. He met with Sampson and Athletic Faculty Representative, Dr. Ken Walker. Walker, a former athletic director at Cal Poly, is slated for induction into the Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame this Fall.

Walker and Sampson gave Carroll some guidelines. They included a 3.0 GPA for the winter quarter. At the end of the quarter, after regular meetings with Walker and Sampson, Carroll earned a 3.4 GPA — his best yet at Cal Poly.

“Nothing slides with Steve,” said Carroll of Sampson. “He doesn’t care about us as soccer players only, he cares about us as human beings. He wants to know everything that’s going on.”

Carroll also met with some of the leaders on the team. It was a long process, but after his successful winter quarter, Carroll had his chance. He would be allowed to rejoin the team for spring ball.

Gaining confidence

It took a bit of time to shake off the rust. Having spring practice was helpful. Still, Carroll didn’t have his old, familiar starting spot back by the time the fall of 2016 rolled around. After not starting or playing much early in the season, Carroll played in a home game against UCLA, where he notched an assist in a 1-0 Cal Poly win — easily their biggest win of 2016. 

“I felt like, ‘I’m back,'” said Carroll of the UCLA game. He would go-on to play in all 17 games in 2016. 

Upper-class leader

Nick Carroll has developed into a reliable left back on Cal Poly’s men’s soccer team. By Owen Main

Nick Carroll is listed as a junior in terms of eligibility, but it’s his fourth year on-campus. He’s been through three coaches and his stint off the team. He’s a student who presents himself as someone who is thankful for the second chance he was given. 

Carroll pointed to a culture turnaround in the soccer program as an important contributing factor to his personal changes as well. 

“There’s been a 180 degree turnaround with culture,” he said of the soccer program. “When I came in, there was a different set of standards and rules.”

He knows Sampson has coached at the highest levels.

“[Sampson] knows what special teams have to sacrifice,” said Carroll. “Everybody now holds everyone accountable to an incredibly high level.”

Sampson reciprocated the respect.

“He’s matured incredibly,” said Sampson. “I know how hard he’s worked to turn his life around on and off the soccer field.” 

“Our soccer program is trying to be exceptional both on and off the field. [Nick] accepted it, took on the challenge, and is reaping the rewards.”

No time like now

On Sunday, Carroll took a perfectly-placed pass from teammate Jose Rivera and blasted it with his dominant left foot through the arms of the keeper and into the back of the net for a late, game-winning goal. It was Carroll’s first as a Mustang

He ran toward the big crowd of WoWies, who cheered for him. He celebrated with his teammates. Few in the stadium know the road he took to get to that moment.

“He’s proud of what I’ve done,” said Carroll of Sampson. “And I am too.”

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

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. 

At the Paso Robles Horse Park, the Cal Poly men’s soccer team defeated Fresno Pacific 4-0 Wednesday evening in their final tune-up before kicking off the season next Friday in Indiana. 

Three Stars

Christian Enriquez is a sophomore, but he’ll be Cal Poly soccer’s field general from the midfield this season. By Owen Main

Sophomore midfielder Christian Enriquez started the scoring within the first few minutes. He collected a bouncing ball just outside the box and calmly slotted it past the Sunbird keeper, who was caught in no man’s land about five yards away.

Enriquez helped Cal Poly double their lead a few minutes later, playing a no-look through ball to junior college transfer forward Sean Goode. Goode did what he’s done every time I’ve seen him — that is score on his chances. 

Senior Kaba Alkebulan subbed into the game late in the first half and made an immediate impact with his speed. Kaba took a ball over the top down the left side, turned in and right footed it into the goal. Just after halftime, Alkebulan doubled up, scoring a pretty similar goal. 

Enriquez and Kaba are a clear one and two. Eddie Melgoza was my number three. Melgoza started in central midfield and led the back line to a clean sheet. Other defenders did rotate in and out, but Melgoza seems to be settling into a central defender role after playing on the left side most of his freshman year. 

Hoosier-bound

Cal Poly starts their season against two top-10 teams at a tournament in South Bend, Indiana at Notre Dame. First, they’ll face #7 Indiana on Friday August 25th, followed by a match the following Sunday vs. the hosts — #10 Notre Dame. Their opening road trip also features games at the Big East’s Georgetown and #6 Maryland. 

Decent results in those four road games should give the Mustangs the benefit of the doubt for an NCAA bid if they’re on the bubble. Playing good teams early is also a great way to prepare for Big West play.

Mustangs tabbed third in the Big West North

Cal Poly was tabbed today to finish third in the Big West North in the conference’s preseason poll released today. Since there are only four teams in the conference’s North Division, being picked third isn’t great. 

If you look at last season’s performance, thinking of Cal Poly as a third place team in the division might be reasonable. The Mustangs have nearly 20 new players on their roster as they try to bounce back from (5-9-3) overall record (3-5-2 in Big West play).

Predictably, UCSB was pegged as the favorite in the North. UC Davis was picked second, followed by Cal Poly and Sacramento State. Cal State Northridge was picked first in the South followed by Cal State Fullerton, UC Riverside, and UC Irvine. 

Photos by Owen Main. To view the entire gallery, click here.

Cal Poly men’s soccer starts their season tomorrow with an exhibition against Fresno Pacific. That’s no big deal — they’ve played the Sunbirds to open the season before. What is different is that the game will be played in Paso Robles.

At a Horse Park. 

The Paso Robles Horse Park, according to its website, opened in 2015 as a venue for equestrian competitions. Its main field — presumably where the match will be played — is specially engineered for horses. It has synthetic material woven into the grass to provide a more firm base for horses to jump and land on. From the website:

“The Fairway Field measures 300 feet by 500 feet and it is not your ordinary grass field. A sophisticated drainage system sits under eight inches of a specially prepared base comprised of sand and screened native soil designed by a soils engineer. Within this, polypropylene fibers were cultivated into the top four inches of the base. These fibers open up and bind with the soil along with the roots of the grass to form a more resilient footing for the various jumping and athletic events.”

So, on the one hand, Cal Poly should be able to play on a much wider surface than they’re accustomed to at home (Did you know soccer fields are all different sizes? It’s true. The width of a field can literally DOUBLE, depending on where you play). This wider field should help as Cal Poly goes back east to play on fields much wider than the Spanos surface. 

Kaba Alkebulan and the Cal Poly men’s soccer team kick off their season on Wednesday night in Paso Robles. By Owen Main

Also, the field could be a little different than what they’re used to. We know the tougher turf is better for horses, but will it effect the playability of the surface itself? 

Later in the season (September 23rd), the Mustangs will play again at the Paso Robles Horse Park on a football home game day. That game, against Cal State Bakersfield, will not be an exhibition. I’ll need to check when the last time the Mustangs played a home soccer match that counted and that wasn’t at Alex G. Spanos Stadium. 

I’ll be at the game on Wednesday night in Paso Robles. It’s the last opportunity to see Steve Sampson’s team “at home” until September 10th, when they host Saint Mary’s. It’s hard to believe, but this is Sampson’s third season at the helm of the Cal Poly program. 

Game time: 5:00pm

Location: Paso Robles Horse Park 

Cal Poly men’s soccer is finally peaking. The question is whether it will be too late. After beating Sacramento State 2-1 on Saturday evening at Alex G. Spanos Stadium, the Mustangs’ fate depends on the UCSB – UC Davis game, to be played on Sunday afternoon.

You can’t ever blame Kody Wakasa for not being in the middle of things… Photo by Owen Main

With a Gaucho win or tie, the Mustangs advance. If Davis wins, Cal Poly finishes in fourth place in the Big West North Divivision, meaning their season is over.

How did Cal Poly win?

A third minute header by Bjorn Sandberg gave the Mustangs a 1-0 lead. It didn’t last long. Just over a minute later, Sacramento State’s Bert Corona gave the Hornets an equalizer.

The match remained knotted at one apiece until the 71st minute, when freshman striker Sebastian Herran kicked a left-footed shot that took a slight deflection and beat Sac State keeper James Del Curto. It was Herran’s first career goal for Cal Poly and gave the Mustangs the three points they so desperately needed.

You can watch the two Cal Poly goals here.

Good deal, so what happens next? Are the Mustangs in the playoffs?

Well, in a weird scheduling snafu, it seems that the final games of the season were not scheduled simultaneously. UCSB doesn’t like hosting night games during Halloween weekend. They’ve had issues during this weekend in the past.

So, why didn’t the Big West schedule simultaneous North Division games Saturday afternoon or Sunday afternoon? I didn’t get a super straight answer on that one, but Steve Sampson did address it in his postgame comments.

Also, UC Davis now knows for sure that they have to win in order to make the conference playoffs — an advantage for them to be certain going into their game with the Gauchos.

Did anything else fun happen?

Well, the game did get a little chippy. Late in the first half, following a common foul against Cal Poly, Sac State’s Jessie Gonzalez two-hand shoved Kody Wakasa from behind, sending him to the ground. Wakasa never saw the cheap shot coming. From where I was taking photos — about midfield — the incident seemed like an automatic red card. Gonzalez, who seemed like he knew a red was coming, ran away and was walking toward the bench before referee Alex Del Angel decided to only issue a yellow card.

You can review the incident for yourself here:

In the Sampson video above, he addressed this play as well. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if the conference reviewed the play and suspended the player for the first round of the conference tournament. Based on what I saw from where I was standing, it would be an appropriate punishment.

So, what’s next?

Well, the Mustangs have to sit and wait. Anything could happen in a 2:00 game during Halloween weekend in Isla Vista in the rain. If UC Davis doesn’t win, the Mustangs will head to Fullerton for the Big West Tournament first round next weekend. If the Aggies win, the Mustangs’ season is over.

I outlined a road to the tournament a few weeks ago and targeted 13 points as the number they needed. Cal Poly ended up with 11, and that COULD be enough. You can watch the UCSB-UC Davis game here.

In what was probably their best showing of the young season, Cal Poly’s men’s soccer team drew 11th-ranked San Diego State 0-0 on Saturday night at Alex G. Spanos Stadium on the Cal Poly campus.

Cal Poly’s defense was well-organized all game long, only allowing three shots to the visiting Aztecs. Goalkeeper Eric Kam recorded the first clean sheet of his career.

Despite the cast on his right wrist, Kenneth Higgins has provided a lot of energy and ball control for a Cal Poly team that is still looking to find its identity. By Owen Main

Shoot it!

Cal Poly out-shot SDSU 12-3. The Aztecs actually had the most possession, but Cal Poly created opportunities on counter-attacks and set pieces all night. Justin Dhillon played as a lone striker for most of the match while Kenneth Higgins, Kaba Alkebulan, and Adam Olsen provided some support. Especially intriguing is the play of lefties Jack O’Connor and Nick Carroll down the left side of the field. As head coach Steve Sampson put it early-on, the connection between those two will continue to be important. O’Connor’s hustle and ability to get forward and get service to the Mustangs’ tall, athletic forwards looks like a recipe Cal Poly is trying to master.

WOW crowd… kind of

Week of Welcome had not started at Cal Poly at game time, but lots of students were at this match. The attendance was listed at 1223, but I would say they were low by probably a thousand. Most of the new side of Alex G. Spanos Stadium was full for this one.

Another ranked opponent

Cal Poly will host another ranked opponent on Saturday, this time welcoming 7th-ranked UCLA into town. The Bruins have hosted the Mustangs in recent years and it will be interesting to see if Cal Poly can get a result from a ranked team. UCLA will be the fourth match (out of 7) Cal Poly has played against a top-11 opponent and the Mustangs hope that it nets them their first win against a Division I team this season.

If they were looking for inspiration, the WOW week crowd should be out in full force on Friday. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were eight to ten thousand fans on-hand for this one. A few years ago, against San Francisco, the Friday night WOW Week game netted over 6,000 fans — mostly WOWies. With UCLA’s name brand and some good weather, 8,000 could be in the cards.

Kickoff against UCLA is at 8:00 pm.

Photos by Owen Main. To view them all, click here. 

As their season kicks off, Cal Poly men’s soccer head coach Steve Sampson talked with Owen about his offseason, calling Copa America for Spanish language television, and the upcoming season.

For photos of the Cal Poly Men’s Soccer exhibition against Stanford this past week, click here. 

Don’t fear the tree.

On Wednesday night, Cal Poly men’s soccer will take-on Stanford, the nation’s top-ranked team, at Alex G. Spanos Stadium. The exhibition match will be the first of two this week for the Mustangs. On Sunday evening, they’ll square off against Loyola Marymount before playing their first actual game at North Carolina the following week.

Cal Poly’s first two weekends or real games will be spent on the road. First, they’ll face ACC foes and top-10 teams North Carolina and Wake Forest before traveling to New Mexico to play the Lobos and Air Force the following weekend. The first home match that counts in their final record will be Sunday, September 11th against Fresno Pacific.

Kaba Alkebulan may have more opportunities to do damage front of goal this year. Photo by Owen Main

In their Green-Gold scrimmage on Saturday, key players George Grote and Trenton Matson were unavailable and Justin Dhillon rolled his ankle early in the first half. Though they lost four seniors to the USL and MLS after last year, this year’s Cal Poly team has added some depth in the offseason. Freshmen like Christian Enriquez, Sebastian Herran, Diego Alonso, Patch Johanssen, Kenneth Higgins, and Brayden Myus should all get opportunities to contribute.

Freshman midfielder Daniel Malki (Phoenix, AZ) is a Cal Poly legacy, following in his brother George’s footsteps.

Returning players like Matson, Ramiro Molina-Valerio, Joseph Bolous, Kaba Alkebulan, Adam Olsen, Bjorn Sandberg, Nick Carroll, Jack O’Connor, Jared Pressley, and Ruben Duran look to make improvement over last season to account for the loss in production and leadership from departures of Matt LaGrassa, Kip Colvey, Chase Minter, and Wade Hamilton.

Kody Wakasa, with a fresh white haircut and a familiar gritty attitude will lead the back line along with Matson. Justin Dhillon, who was a top-50 national recruit out of high school, has a final chance to play with his brother Sean — both are in their senior season. Tony Scimeca will compete for time in the middle of the back line and Brett Foreman, who was really effective two years ago before being injured last season.

The biggest question mark for this team might be who starts in goal. Eric Kam is a junior and has been in the program for two years already behind Hamilton. Simon Boehme, a Danish sophomore, has also waited his turn.

On the field, Boehme looks a little more Hamilton-esque, but Kam has been in the program for some time as well. I’ll give a slight edge to Boehme based only on the Green-Gold game, but either could be the guy in goal for the Mustangs this year.

Steve Sampson’s team will face North Carolina, UCLA, Wake Forest, and San Diego State. Cal Poly will have a tough schedule all year, but no game will be more fun than Saturday October 15th at Spanos Stadium against UCSB.

First thing’s first though.

Stanford is coming to town.

Photos from Cal Poly’s – Green-White scrimmage on Saturday

Find them all at photos.fansmanship.com