UCSB Women’s Soccer Drops Rainy Blue-Green Rivalry Matchup with Cal Poly, 2-0

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Women’s Soccer team dropped a crucial match to Cal Poly by a score of 2-0 on Wednesday night in wet conditions in San Luis Obispo.

The Blue and Gold came into the match tied for third place in the standings with CSUN; after all the results tonight, the Gauchos are now sitting tied for fourth in the standings.

The good news for the Gauchos is that they have opportunities to jump and close the margin on some teams as they play Utah Valley on Saturday, Oct. 24, who is currently above them in the standings, and CSUN next Wednesday, Oct. 28, who they are currently tied with.

After more than a quarter inch of rain fell leading up to the match, the Gauchos and Mustangs gave the 38^th Blue-Green Rivalry a go.

Puddles all over Spanos Stadium slowed play way down early in the game. Some early chances by the Mustangs went by the wayside, but in the ninth minute they would break through.
 
A corner kick was swung into the box, and the Gauchos were unable to clear it. After bouncing around and being headed a few times, the Mustangs found the back of the net off a header.

From that point on, the Mustangs took control of the first half. They limited the Gauchos to just two shots until the 40^th minute. Late in the first half, the Gauchos took multiple shots at net but were unable to find the equalizer as they went to halftime down 1-0.
 
To begin the second half, the Gauchos looked to equalize the game. The Blue and Gold fired off three shots in the opening minutes but could not beat the Mustang defense.

After controlling the match for the opening 20 minutes of the second half, Cal Poly gained some momentum and quickly capitalized. In the 74^th minute, the Mustangs made it a two-goal game. Another header shot floated over the outstretched arm of Maddie Buckley and extended the Mustangs’ lead.
 
In the final 10 minutes of the match, UC Santa Barbara again had multiple scoring opportunities but were unable to convert. Ava Ybarra hit the left post and Olivia Howard had a shot blocked from point-blank range. Despite the efforts, UC Santa Barbara fell to Cal Poly 2-0.

UC Santa Barbara will return home to host Utah Valley on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 6 p.m. The Gauchos and Wolverines will kick off at 6 p.m. at Harder Stadium. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available.