By james art In the penultimate home game of the Cal Poly Men’s Soccer season, the Mustangs tied UC Irvine 1-1 on Wednesday to remain undefeated at Mustang Memorial Field.
The Mustangs (6-4-6, 3-1-3 Big West) entered the game with the Anteaters (6-7-2, 3-3-1 Big West) in a three-way tie for first in the Big West Conference with UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Bakersfield.
After the tie, the Mustangs dropped to second place as the Gauchos took over sole possession of first place in the Big West.
Cal Poly applied offensive pressure early in the game. In the fourth minute, a goal by graduate defenseman Jack Muoio found redshirt freshman Quinn Mahoney in the UC Irvine penalty box.
Mahoney quickly took control of the ball and drove it into the net, finding the nylon to put the Mustangs up by one score.
The team’s scoring leader continued to add to the resume of his offensively dominant season, with the goal being Mahoney’s fourth of the season.
“Getting the ball in great spots from my teammates finding me in the pocket helps a lot,” Mahoney said. “Without my teammates, I can’t score any of these types of goals.”
The Mustangs only increased the offensive pressure after the score and created more attacking opportunities throughout the game, taking more corner kicks than the Anteaters, 6-5.
In addition, Cal Poly had 18 field goal attempts throughout the game, a season high in conference play for the Mustangs.
However, after the early goal, the Mustangs could only test opposing goaltender Luke Pruter two more times.
Cal Poly took an early lead in the first half, but it quickly faded as the second half began.
UC Irvine forward Misael Gutierrez scored the tying goal in the 55th minute, slotting the ball into the net after a chaotic scramble in the Cal Poly box.
The Mustang defense held the tie until the final whistle, holding off an equally potent Anteater offense that had attempted a game-equaling 18 shots.
Junior goalie Nikki McCune recorded a career-high seven saves tonight. In a series of late-game heroics, McCune made three of seven saves, turning away three consecutive shots on goal in the 86th minute to preserve the tie.
“The only thing I was thinking about was getting back in the goal and keeping the ball out of the net,” McCune said. “That’s what we train for – we work very hard as goalkeepers and I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time.”
Cal Poly looks to finish strong as the Mustangs play their penultimate game of the season against Cal State Northridge in the road finale on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.