Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer

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Cal Poly Mustangs
Men's Soccer
2015 Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer team
Cal Poly MustangsMen's Soccer athletic logo
University California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo
Conference Big West
Division North
Location San Luis Obispo, CA
Head Coach Steve Sampson
Stadium Alex G. Spanos Stadium
(Capacity: 11,075)
Nickname Mustangs
Colors [[ (color)|]] and [[ (color)|]]

             
Home
Away
NCAA Tournament Appearances
1995, 2008, 2015

The Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer program represents California Polytechnic State University in men's soccer at the NCAA Division I level. Cal Poly is coached by former United States men's national team head coach Steve Sampson. Like most teams from Cal Poly, they play in the Big West Conference. The Big West Conference stopped sponsoring soccer in 1991, but resumed soccer in 2001. Over this period, Cal Poly competed in a regional conference called the MPSF. Since the return of soccer to the Big West, the Mustangs have appeared in 2 NCAA tournaments, most recently in 2015. Posting the program's best record in 2008 (11–6–6), Cal Poly placed 3rd in the Big West and qualified for the NCAA Division I Tournament for the first time in the school's history. Cal Poly managed to upset #11 UCLA 1–0 to advance to second round before losing 0–3 to #14 UC Irvine. The Mustangs play in Alex G. Spanos Stadium (capacity of 11,075) on the campus of the California Polytechnic State University. In 2011, collegesoccernews.com chose the Cal Poly vs UCSB soccer game as the #1 rivalry in college soccer.[1]

History

2007 – A New Generation

2007 saw a perfect storm of events that gave birth to one of the largest and most respected college soccer fan-bases in the country. 1. The completion of Alex G. Spanos Stadium 2. Rival UCSB had just won the 2006 National Championship 3. The creation of the Mustang Manglers 4. New Head Coach Paul Holocher brought increased success to the program. In 2006, with Spanos Stadium still under construction Cal Poly plays its home soccer games at the Sports Complex,[2][3] north of the baseball and softball fields, now known as the turf fields. 2007 brought the completion of the renovation and expansion of Spanos Stadium and the ability to host larger crowds.[4]

With a new stadium, a soccer team with an 8–1–1 record going into the game against rival UCSB, the defending national champion, and the growth of the Mustang Manglers a perfect storm led to 7,143 came to watch Cal Poly knock of the defending national champion 2–1.[5] Following students stormed the field cheering P'ole! P'ole! P'ole! This was the catalyst for the massive attendances to follow and growth of the rivalry beyond the soccer field. Buck the Gauchos fever would soon contribute to increased attendances, sellouts and tough competition to tickets for the basketball game against UCSB.[6]

2008 – Beyond Expectations

Looking to build on the excitement of the previous year, Cal Poly hosted a "Break the Attendance Record Night" for the 2008 edition of the Blue-Green Rivalry against 19th ranked UCSB.[7] Few expected what would come. After word spread of the excitement of the previous year's win, nobody wanted to miss out this time around. As the game kicked off the crowd continued to swell. With no precedent Cal Poly's Athletics department and Event staff were caught off gourd. Thinking at a sell-out was impossible, event staff were not prepared. Students continued to pour in pushing Spanos Stadium well beyond its official capacity. Students packed in standing in both isles and seats, doubling up some sections. Every inch of standing room was packed.

Early in the 1st Wes Feigner tipped a ball that trickled past the goalkeeper, however offside was called. This would have proved to be the game-winning. With the 2nd half about to start the crowd swelled out of control. The atmosphere was absolutely raucous after UCSB goalie, Kristopher Minton, made the mistake of acknowledging the student section. Acknowledging the raucous student section acted as a catalyst for a massive taunting. The entire front of the south sections pointed at Minton and began to taunt hem. Minton refused to take his position in the goal as taunting escalated. Referees had to calm Minton down but as the loud speakers blasted Ozzy Osborn's Crazy Train the students did not relent. After 15 minutes Minton finally took his position in goal. Fortunately for Minton UCSB scored in the first minute of the 2nd Overtime to take the win. Gaucho fans acting as terrorists preceded to set off smoke grenades creating panic and terror among exiting fans.

The official attendance off 11,075 not only broke the school record and the conference attendance record, it was the 2nd largest on-campus, regular season attendance in NCAA history. The largest in over 21 years.[8] 2008 saw the Big West Conference field 4 teams that were ranked in the NSCAA Top 25: Cal Poly, UC Davis, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara.

Cal Poly Games vs Ranked Opponents

  • 2–1 Win @ #23 New Mexico
  • 2–0 Loss @ #16 UC Davis
  • 0–1 2OT Loss vs #19 UCSB
  • 0–0 2OT Tie @ #17 UCSB
  • 1–2 Lost @ #19 UCLA
  • 2–2 2OT Loss in PKs @ #19 UCSB (Big West Playoffs)
  • 1–0 Win @ #11 UCLA (NCAA Tournament)
  • 0–3 Loss @ #14 UC Irvine (NCAA Tournament)[9][10]

2009

2009 saw the introduction of one of Cal Poly's most cherished soccer traditions, the "Buck the Gauchos" t-shirt by the Poly Reps. The Blue-Green rivalry returned to Cal Poly as UCSB was ranked #3 in the country. The game ended in a 0–0 tie. Cal Poly's best chance came when a Cal Poly player broke free with the ball with only the goal to beat. Feet from the penalty box he was tackled from behind by a UCSB player. Thus, a free kick was given instead of a penalty kick.[11] 9,824 fans attended the Wednesday gave vs UCSB. After this the Big West conference scheduled all Cal Poly vs UCSB games for a Friday, Saturday or Sunday night.[12]

2010

The 2010 season opener featured #17 ranked UCLA during the Cal Poly Week of Welcome orientation. Excitement for the new school year along with a now established perennial attendance record setting rivalry game brought 8,717 fans to Spanos stadiums, the first attendance over 3200 at the renovated Spanos stadium. The game ended a 0–0 tie. UCLA has not returned to Cal Poly for a Friday or Saturday game since.[13]

The Blue-Green Rivalry continued with #19 UCSB visiting Cal Poly on October 27, 2010. The game was broadcast on the Fox Soccer Channel. Without a win in the past two games and with fear that play in such large games was to aggressive for a team to score attendance dropped to 8,125. Only the seniors had attended Cal Poly in 2007, Cal Poly's last win. Fear of another tie ended with a first half goal by Junior Burgos. UCSB would respond with a tying goal. The game would go into overtime. In Overtime Chris Gaschen scored the game-winning golden-goal. Fans stormed the field for the first time since 2007. Cal Poly has sold out every game against UCSB since.[13]

2011

Cal Poly beat #13 UCSB in San Luis Obispo 2–1 in front of a sell-out crowd of 11,075.[14] Cal Poly men's soccer senior center back Patrick Sigler buried a 90th-minute penalty to hand the Mustangs a 2–1, come-from-behind triumph. Cal Poly trailed the Gauchos, 1–0, with 12 minutes to play until senior right back Cameron Walters headed a corner kick in for a game-tying goal. UCSB was assessed 2 red cards in the final 26 seconds.[15]

2012 – Sweep the Gauchos

Cal Poly swept the gauchos first winning 1–0 in front of a sell-out of 11,075 in San Luis Obispo. Cal Poly then completed the sweep defeating UCSB 2–1 in Overtime. Cal Poly's George Malki scored with 64 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. Big West Conference Play of the Year, Mackenzie Pridham then scored the game-winning game in overtime. Cal Poly students stormed the field at Harder Stadium. The game was once again broadcast of Fox Soccer Channel.[16][17]

2015 – New Head Coach Steve Sampson Leads the Mustangs

In December 2014 Cal Poly hired former United States Men's National Soccer Team Head Coach Steve Sampson. Steve lead the US in the 1998 World Cup and also served as an Assistant Coach in the 1994 World Cup. He coached Santa Clara to the 1989 National Championship and coached the LA Galaxy to the 2005 MLS Cup and US Open Cup.[18]

Fortress Spanos

Entering the 2014 season, the Mustangs have produced a 42–15–10 mark and a 21–7–7 conference mark since the renovation and expansion of Spanos Stadium in 2007 including 23 shutouts and 25 clean sheets. Defending Spanos from the stands is one of the largest college fan bases in the country led by the Mustang Manglers. Cal Poly has sold out the 11,075 on numerous occasions the largest sellout crowd in the history of college soccer on-campus. In 2013 the sell-out was taken to the next level when student tickets were distributed in advance for the first time.[19][20] The result was a sellout 2 days before the game against UCSB,[20] the first known sellout of a stadium of over 5,000 before gameday.

The atmosphere has been made famous by the passionate and massive student section. Students begin lining up over 3 hours before game-time in order the get the best seats. In 2012 the stadium reached capacity 45 minutes before kickoff. The result was students jumping fences to sneak in, climbing trees and buildings to get a view.[7][21] Those without a ticket are known to pack the outsides of the stadium trying to grab a piece of the view and a taste of the atmosphere. Victories over UCSB in 2010, 2011 and 2012 resulted in fans storming the field. In 2013 the massive attendances have expanded beyond the UCLA and UCSB games. Games against Harvard in 2012 and UC Riverside in 2013 filled the 3,480 seat west stands. Against San Francisco in 2013, fans were once again turned away as both the south stands were opened for the first time for a non-UCSB/UCLA game. These stands filled quickly. Without the staff to open the east stands, students were once again turned away.[22]

The result of the need to arrive early combined with the unique design of Spanos stadium, placing students "on the railing" only feet from the sideline has created one of the top atmospheres in college soccer. Sharing the venue with Cal Poly's FCS division football team has created one of the finest venues in college soccer. Thanks to football, Spanos stadium features 8 skyboxes, a video screen and a new 2007 grandstand towering over California Blvd. In the spring of 2013 temporary bleachers were replaced with a permanent grandstand. Additionally, in 2013, in the older east side stands, front rows were removed to widen the field and add ADA seating.

The results of such great atmosphere and stadium design, Spanos Stadium was selected as the #1 Men's Soccer venue to check out by NCAA in 2011.[23]

Head Coach Paul Holocher Resignation

After 8 years as head coach, growing the Cal Poly soccer program from obscurity to one of the best college athletics venues in the county[23] Paul Holocher, announced on August 11, 2014 that he had resigned from his role to move to Hawai'i and serve as the Director of Development with Maui United Soccer Club.[24] In 8 seasons Holocher directed the Mustangs to a 72–60–25 record and 1 NCAA Tournament appearance, Cal Poly's second since joining Division 1 in 1996. Phil Ruskin, a second year assistant coach, was promoted to be the interim head coach upon Holocher's departure.[25] Despite the sudden coaching change Cal Poly had upset AAC power house North Carolina State 3–1 in North Carolina followed by a stunning tie vis #1 UCLA in Pasadena, CA. Furthermore, Cal Poly has started conference play by drawing #3 ranked UC Irvine 1–1 and defeating preseason division favorite Cal State Northridge 2–1.[26][27]

In Holocher's time, Cal Poly's sooccer program saw massive changes. Most notably was the creation of the Mustang Manglers student fan club[28] and the record shattering attendances. Before Holocher took over attendances were almost always under 1000. By 2008 Cal Poly hosted a sellout crowd of 11,075, shattering the school and conference attendance record, posting what was then the second largest regular season, on-campus, attendance in NCAA history.[8] Attendance records have continued to be broken as Cal Poly has continually been ranked in the top 5 nationally in average home attendance.[8][29][30][30] As a result of the boom in attendance Cal Poly has made national headlines. In 2011 Cal Poly's Alex G. Spanos Stadium was named the "Men's Soccer – College Venue you must check out"[23] In a 2010 New York Times article abou the growth of college soccer, Cal Poly was the first school mentioned. "Eye-catching figures are popping up across the country for men’s games. Cal Poly has drawn crowds of more than 8,000 twice this season."[31] The rivalry between Cal Poly and UCSB has been called the biggest college soccer rivalry in the country by SoccerAmerica,[32] the "Greatest" by College Soccer News[1] and was mentioned in an 2011 NCAA article about rivalries.[33]

Attendance Figures

With 9 home games in 2008, Cal Poly had 25,549 fans attend their games for an average of 2,839 fans/game.[34] In 2010 Cal Poly ranked 4th in average attendance with 3,013 per game over 8 games for a total of 24,100 including 8,717 against #17 UCLA which ended in a 0–0 tie and 8,125 in a 2–1 OT win against #19 UCSB [35]

2015 squad

As of 11 April 2016: [36] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
0 United States GK Simon Boehme
2 United States MF Austin Wilcox
3 United States MF Joseph Bolous
4 United States FW R. Molina-Valerio
5 United States DF Noah Chapleski
7 England FW Ismail Seremba
11 United States FW Justin Dhillon
13 United States FW Kaba Alkebulan
14 United States DF Sean Dhillon
15 United States DF Brett Foreman
16 United States DF Trenton Matson
17 Sweden DF Björn Sandberg
18 United States GK Eric Kam
No. Position Player
19 United States FW Adam Olsen
21 United States FW John Chronopoulos
22 United States DF Ruben Duran
22 United States MF Peter Delkeskamp
24 United States DF Tony Scimeca
26 United States DF Jack O'Connor
27 United States FW George Grote
28 United States DF Matt Woolf
29 United States MF Patch Johannson
30 United States DF Chris Villa
31 United States DF Louis Heinzer
32 United States FW Jared Pressley
33 United States DF Kody Wakasa

Cal Poly seasons (Since 2001)

Season Conference Record Conference
Tourn. Pos.		 Overall Record Honours Top points[37] Top scorer[38]
Conference Pld. W L D Pos. Pld. W L D Natl.
Rank
2001 Big West 10 3 7 0 5th 19 4 13 1 NR
2002 Big West 10 1 9 0 6th 19 3 16 0 NR
2003 Big West 10 3 5 2 4th 19 7 8 4 NR
2004 Big West 10 3 6 1 5th 18 7 7 4 NR
2005 Big West 10 1 9 0 4th 20 6 14 0 NR[39]
2006 Big West 9 3 5 1 4th 19 7 8 4 NR[40] Julian Alvarez
Jose Garcia		 10 Jose Garcia 4
2007 Big West 12 6 2 4 3rd 19 11 4 4 NR[41] David Zamora 17 Julian Alvarez 7
Beginning with the 2008 season, the Big West Conference instituted a conference tournament to determine the winner of the NCAA automatic bid instead of awarding it to the regular season winner.
2008 Big West 10 5 2 3 2nd Semi-Finals 23 11 6 6 23[42] NCAA 2nd Round Julian Alvarez 17 David Zamora 8
2009 Big West 10 6 3 1 3rd Semi-Finals 21 8 11 2 NR[43] Big West Semifinal David Zamora 15 David Zamora 6
2010 Big West 10 5 3 2 3rd Semi-Finals 18 8 7 3 NR[43] Big West Semifinal David Zamora 14 David Zamora 5
2011 Big West 10 3 6 1 6th 18 6 9 3 NR[43] Kyle Montgomery 7 Kyle Montgomery 3
2012 Big West 10 6 3 1 3rd Semi-Finals 19 11 7 1 NR[43] Big West Semifinal Mackenzie Pridham 23 Mackenzie Pridham 11
2013 Big West 10 3 5 2 6th First-Round 21 10 9 2 NR[43] Mackenzie Pridham 31 Mackenzie Pridham 14

The Blue-Green Rivalry

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Main article: Blue–Green Rivalry

Chosen as the #1 "Greatest Rivalry In College Soccer" by CollegeSoccerNews.com, the main rival of the Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer team is the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team.[44] The rivalry is a part of the larger Blue–Green Rivalry, which encompasses all sports from the two schools. With both schools located on the Central Coast less than 100 miles apart, attendance has risen dramatically following the Gauchos' 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. The crowds of these games are record-setting and are among the highest regular season games in NCAA college soccer history.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.collegesoccernews.com/index_files/Page2764.htm
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ http://static.psbin.com/d/7/tvoc8p7arz2m2s/2007_Cal_Poly_Men-s_Soccer_Media_Guide.pdf
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_soccer_RB/2009/Attendance.pdf
  9. ↑ http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=3709159
  10. ↑ http://www.bigwest.org/sports/msoccer/mediaguides/2009/09_MSocGuide.pdf
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ http://gopoly.com/sports/msoc/2014-15/releases/20141204rxne9i
  19. ↑ http://mustangnews.net/blue-green-rivalry-game-tickets-on-sale/
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 http://mustangnews.net/uc-santa-barbara-soccer-rivalry-tickets-sold-out/
  21. ↑ http://mustangnews.net/upd-arrests-12-at-blue-green-rivalry-game/
  22. ↑ http://gopoly.com/sports/msoc/2012-13/Media_Guide
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 http://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/nine-noon/2011-10-23/college-venues-you-have-check-out
  24. ↑ http://gopoly.com/sports/msoc/2014-15/releases/20140811yueh5b
  25. ↑ http://www.calpolymustangs.com/sports/msoc/coaches/Ruskin-Phil
  26. ↑ http://gopoly.com/sports/msoc/2014-15/schedule
  27. ↑ http://www.bigwest.org/sports/msoccer/release3.pdf
  28. ↑ http://cpmanglers.wordpress.com/manglers/
  29. ↑ http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_soccer_RB/2011/attend.pdf
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_soccer_RB/2014/attend.pdf
  31. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/sports/soccer/03attendance.html?_r=0
  32. ↑ http://www.socceramerica.com/article/40162/blue-green-rivalry-college-soccers-biggest-rival.html
  33. ↑ http://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2011-10-16/rivalries-come-all-sizes
  34. ↑ http://www.gopoly.com/index.php?p=sports&tab=news&id=29911&article_id=66721
  35. ↑ http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/ncaa/resources/stats/m+soccer/attendance.html
  36. ↑ http://gopoly.com/sports/msoc/2015-16/roster
  37. ↑ In NCAA scoring, goals count as 2 points while assists count as one point.
  38. ↑ Goals in all competitions (regular season, Conference, and NCAA Tournament) are counted.
  39. ↑ NSCAA/adidas National Rankings Division I Final Post-Season Ranking Poll From http://www.nscaa.com, Posted 13 December 2005.
  40. ↑ NSCAA/adidas National Rankings Division I Final Post-Season Ranking Poll From http://www.nscaa.com, Posted 05 December 2006.
  41. ↑ NSCAA/adidas National Rankings Division I Final Post-Season Ranking Poll From http://www.nscaa.com, Posted 19 December 2007.
  42. ↑ [1] From http://www.nscaa.com, Posted 16 December 2008.
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 43.2 43.3 43.4 NSCAA/adidas National Rankings Division I Final Post-Season Ranking Poll From http://www.nscaa.com, Posted 17 November 2009.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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