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This Week: The Mustangs return home for a pair of Big West Conference games after splitting games the opening weekend of conference play. The Mustangs will host UC Riverside on Friday, Oct. 9 at 7 pm. The Highlanders enter the game with the Mustangs with a 5-4-3 overall record and post a 0-1 mark in conference play. The Titans enter the week with 3-5-3 overall mark and 1-0 in conference games. CSF will travel to UCSB before visiting San Luis Obispo. The Mustangs have won five of six entering the week and defeated UC Irvine 3-2 in the second overtime to earn the team’s first win in conference play. Cal Poly lost 3-2 at Cal State Northridge on Friday, Oct. 2.

Upcoming: Following the game with the Titans on Sunday, Oct. 11. The Mustangs will remain at home to host UC Davis on Thursday, Oct. 15 and Long Beach State on Sunday, Oct. 18. UCD is currently 5-4-1 (0-1 BWC) and will host UC Irvine and Cal State Northridge before the trip to Cal Poly. LBSU is 5-6-0 (1-1 BWC) and will host No. 25 San Diego on Wednesday and will host Cal State Bakersfield on Sunday.

Quick Look at the Teams:
CP UCR CSF
Record 7-5-0 5-4-3 7-2-1
BWC Record 1-1-0 0-1-0 1-0-0
Goals PPG 1.5 .67 .64
Asst.PG .83 .58 .55
SOG 6.25 5.91 3.27
Goals Allowed Avg. 1.28 .63 1.18
Saves PG 7.1 5.4 3.5
Save Percentage .850 .915 .745

UC Riverside: The Highlanders enter the game with the Mustangs with a 5-4-3 overall record but are 0-2-1 in their last three games. UCR lost its only BWC game 1-0 to Cal State Fullerton. The other loss, 1-0, came at Wyoming while the tie (0-0) was at a neutral site to Boise State. Jessica White, UC Riverside goalie, is one of the top in the nation with a .921 save percentage. Entering the week she was No. 6. Denise Thomas is the team leader with two goals this season. No other Highlander has more then one. Ashley Parks and Kayla Troesh each have one goal along with two assists. Head Coach Veronica O’Brien has been at the helm of the Highlanders since the inception of the program and posts a 76-59-18 record in eight seasons.

Some History with the Highlanders: The Mustangs hold a 4-2-2 advantage over the Highlanders in the all-time series including last season’s 4-1 romp on the road.

Last Time Against the Highlanders: (Oct. 5, 2008) RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Sophomore Morgan Miller scored two goals and led the Mustangs to a Big West win, a 4-1 victory over UC Riverside at the UCR Soccer Stadium. The Highlanders lost for the fourth time in five games, dropping to 5-7-1 overall and 0-2 in conference play. The Mustangs got on the board early Sunday as Ashley Vallis drove down the right side of the pitch and sent a cross to Miller, who fired a shot from 15 yards past UC Riverside senior goalkeeper Brittany Goetz in the seventh minute. Miller would strike again in the 24th minute. Senior midfielder Melissa Woo found space along the right goal line and lofted a cross into the box, where Miller headed the ball into the Highlander goal for a 2-0 lead. The second half started similarly to the first half, with Cal Poly striking for a quick goal. Sophomores Monica Hemenez and Whitney Sisler worked a give and go into the box, and Sisler beat Goetz with a shot into the top-left corner of the goal to extend the Mustang lead. The Mustangs were called for a foul on their side of the field, and Highlander forward Tessa Lenala took the free kick. The senior bent the attempt into the top of the goal box, where junior Ashley Parks was able to head the ball past Hoover to cut the deficit to 3-1. In the 74th minute it was the Mustangs who found the net again. Junior defender Carissa Voegele sent a lead pass from midfield to Vallis, who took the ball herself into the box and beat Goetz for her fourth goal of the season and a 4-1 Mustang lead. Cal Poly out-shot UC Riverside 23-11, including a season-high 13 shots on goal. Goetz stopped six of 10 shots before being pulled, while Hoover made three saves in recording her seventh win of the season. Miller led the Mustangs with four shots, all on goal, while five Mustangs took three shots. Parks led Riverside with five shots and sophomore Kristina Kelly added two.

CS Fullerton: The Titans enter the week with a 3-5-3 overall record and are 1-0 in conference play after defeating UCR in the team’s conference opener. The team’s three wins have come over UCR,. Hawaii and Michigan while playing San Francisco to a 1-1 tie, falling to highly ranked Santa Clara 1-0 and playing two other ties to Washington and Cal State Bakersfield. A trio of players lead the Titans with two goals each; Brisa Gonzalez, Danielle Bitonti, Tamara Dewey. The only other player on the team with a goal this season is Stacey Fox. Shannon Simpson has made eight starts in goal for the Titans and posts a 2-4-2 record. Demian Brown is in his third season as head coach of the Titans and had a 19-19-3 record entering this season.

Some History with the Titans: The Mustangs hold a 10-5-4 advantage over the Titans in the all-time series including last season’s 3-2 win on the road.

Last Time Against the Titans: (Oct. 3, 2008) FULLERTON, Calif. – Sophomore Morgan Miller scored twice and senior Emily Hein capped a wild finish as the Mustangs scored twice in the final seven minutes to defeat Cal State Fullerton, 3-2. A Mustang miscue in their defensive-quarter of the field led to an open shot for freshman Stacey Fox, who beat Mustang keeper Coral Hoover from 20 yards out for her fourth goal of the season. Just over a minute later, sophomore Geminesse Martinez fed fellow sophomore Danielle Bitonti for a shot from 25 yards out. Hoover dove to her left and got a piece of the ball but not enough to prevent it from rolling over the goal line. The Titans maintained their 2-0 lead until the 30th minute, when senior Melissa Woo started an attack off a Fullerton turnover. Ashley Vallis had an attempt stopped by the defense, but Hein was able to play the ball on goal. Dupes made the initial stop but Miller was in position to finish and cut the Mustang deficit to 2-1 on her first goal of the season. Junior Carissa Voegele sprung Miller on a break with just one defender back, and the sophomore from La Selva Beach fired in her second goal of the game from 12 yards out to the top of the Titan goal. Not content with a tie, the Mustangs continued to press and forced a turnover off a Titan goal kick. Ally Kellogg took the errant pass and fed Tiffany Gummow for a shot. The initial try was blocked, but Hein corralled the rebound and put it into the empty net. Hein’s third goal of the season tied her for the team lead and more importantly give the Mustangs the lead.
Cal Poly commanded play throughout, with a 19-9 shot advantage, 5-0 corner kick advantage and 3-12 foul ratio. Morales led Cal Poly with four shots while sophomore Whitney Sisler had three. Titan freshman Caitlin Murillo led the home team with three shots while Bitonti added two. Dupes made five saves while the only two shots Hoover faced resulted in goals. Hein became the first Mustang this season to record both a goal and an assist in a single game.

at Cal Stat Northridge: NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The Cal State Northridge women’s soccer team defeated the Mustangs Friday afternoon, 3-2, in the Big West opener for both teams. With the loss Cal Poly falls to 6-5-0 and 0-1 in Big West play while CSUN improves to 5-6-0 and 1-0 in conference play. The Matadors outshot the Mustangs 28-16 with 11 shots on goal compared to Cal Poly’s seven. CSUN jumped to an early lead in the eighth minute of play on a penalty kick by Heidi Farran who had been taken down in the box. The Matadors made it 2-0 in the 16th minute when Desiree Carenas scored off a corner kick. Cal Poly would fight back to make the score 2-1 at halftime when Tiffany Gummow scored her second goal of the season when she beat the Matador goalie with a long-distance blast in the 24th minute. CSUN made it 3-1 in the 70th minute when Farrryn Townley beat Cal Poly goalie Coral Hoover after a long cross. The Mustangs got cut it to one in the 78th minute when Kaleena Andress received a cross to the top of the box from Cici Kobinski and put it in the left side of the goal. For Andress it was her second goal of the season. For the Matadors, the 28 shots was a season-high, while the Mustangs finished with eight corner kicks compared to three for CSUN. Hoover suffered her second loss of the season for the Mustangs while making eight saves. CSUN used a combination of three goalies in the win with Katie Russ earning the win with two saves.

at UC Irvine : IRVINE, Calif. – Cal Poly’s Julianne Grinstead’s second goal of the season, 3:40 into the second overtime led the Mustangs to a 3-2 win over UC Irvine in a Big West Conference game in Irvine on Sunday. With the win the Mustangs improve to 7-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play while UCI falls to 8-4 and 1-1 in conference play. In the fourth minute of the second overtime period Grinstead scored her second goal of the season when she knocked in the ball off a corner kick by Kirstina Condon-Sherwood ending the game. For the team it was the first Big West Conference win this season. UC Irvine scored the first goal of the game early in the second period (54:04) when Milana Shabestari scored her first goal of the season. The Mustangs answered back 12 seconds later (54:16) when Cici Kobinski broke away after the ball was back in play and put it in the back of the net. The Mustangs took the lead in the 60th minute when Kaleena Andruss drew out the UCI goalie then passed to Julie McKee for an open net goal. For McKee it was her second of the season. The Anteaters tied the game in the 80th minute off a corner when Devon Delarosa passed the ball to Lexi Kopf who put it on goal for her third of the season. UCI outshot the Mustangs 18-8 and put 11 shots on goal while Cal Poly had six on goal. The Anteaters had eight corner kicks to Cal Poly’s six while the Mustangs were whistled for 10 fouls compared to four for UCI. Coral Hoover earned her seventh win of the year in goal for the Mustangs, making eight saves while Danielle de Seriere took the loss making two saves. UCI had its first scoring opportunity of the game in the 12 minute of play when Mar Rodriguez fired a shot with Hoover making the save. The Mustangs didn’t get their first shot of the game until the 18th minute when Tiffany Gummow missed high. In the 25th minute Condon-Sherwood put a shot on goal, but was stymied by goalie de Seriere. Late in the first half UCI made a push with a pair of shots. Alyssa Humphrey in the 39th minute and was blocked while in the 41st Jackie Samis took a header on goal with Hoover making the save.

Game Winner: Julianne Grinstead tallied her second gaol of the season when she knocked one in during the fourth minute of the second overtime to defeat UC Irvine. For Grinstead her two goals have come on just eight shots with four on goal...

Assists anyone... : Bianca Burright assisted on three Cal Poly goals this past week.. Burright had two in the loss at Cal State Northridge and added one more for good measure at UC Irvine ... her total for the season.. three..

Miller Still on Top: Morgan Miller is still leads the team with eight points this season with two goals and four assists despite missing the game with UCI on Sunday... Cici Kobinski now has seven points with three goals and one assist after putting one in net against UCI...

Hoover, Top Drawer POW: Coral Hoover was named Top Drawer Soccer.com’s female player of the week for her two shutout victories over Pac-10 schools. “Hoover earned a pair of shutout wins as the Mustangs surprised a pair of PAC 10 opponents, including previous top 5 side California.“

Hoover No. 3: this past week Coral Hoover was ranked as high as the No. 3 goalie in the nation with a .930 save percentage... She trailed Samford’s Alyssa Whitehead with .973 and Mollie Patton of South Carolina at .967.

Hoover Repeats as BWC Player of the Week: Cal Poly senior goalie Coral Hoover was named the Big West Athlete of the Week when she recorded two shutouts for the second straight week. Hoover, from Corralitos, CA, recorded back-to-back shutouts in wins over No. 7 California and at home against Arizona. The senior goalie shutout the No. 7 Cal Bears in overtime, handing them their second loss of the season, recording nine saves in the game. She faced 25 shots, 10 in the first half and 15 in the second. The Bears entered the game averaging 2.8 goals per game. She backed it up on Sunday with her fourth-straight shutout with a 3-0 blanking of Arizona. In the game she made three saves. Hoover improved her overall record to 6-1 this season and dropped her GAA to .57 and improved her save percentage to .930. Cal Poly improved its overall record to 6-4 with Hoover in goal in all six wins.

Mustang Shots: Cal Poly has taken a total of 135 shots this season with 72 on goal... that’s 56 percent of the team’s shots on net... Opponents have taken 230 shots with 100 on goal... 44 percent.

Sharing the Love: The Mustangs have scored 18 goals this season coming from 11 different players... only one player has three, Cici Kobinski while Julie McKee, Kaleena Andress, Tiffany Gummow, Morgan Miller and Julianne Grinstead each have two...

Breakdown by Class: On the Mustangs 2009 roster their are six seniors listed.... five juniors and eight sophomores... but the big number falls on the freshman ...15....

The Record: Last season the Mustangs posted a 10-9-1 overall record and were 5-3 in Big West contests... on home games, Cal Poly was a mediocre 4-5 in Alex G. Spanos Stadium, but was 6-2-1 on the road.... Neutral games the team was 0-2...

This season..... 2-1 at home and 5-4 on the road..

Crozier Reaches 200: With the Mustangs 1-0 defeat of Cal State Northridge on October 12, 2008, head coach Alex Crozier was successful in his first attempt at reaching the 200-win plateau. Now in his 18th season, Crozier is the all-time coaching wins leader in Big West Women’s Soccer history and has been named the conference’s Coach of the Year four times. He also became just the 32nd coach in NCAA women’s soccer history to reach 200 wins (minimum 10 years coaching at Division-I). Entering Friday’s opener, Crozier’s record stands at 202-105-34.

Preseason Big West Polls: The Cal Poly women’s soccer team has been selected by the Big West Conference coaches to finish third in the 2009 standings. The Mustangs earned 65 points and a first-place nod. Coach Alex Crozier’s Mustangs finished 10-9-1 overall and in third place in Big West play in 2008. Cal Poly also welcomes back a quartet of all-conference honorable mention members in Morgan Miller, Kristina Condon-Sherwood, Carissa Voegele and Coral Hoover. The UC Santa Barbara women’s soccer team was selected to win the 2009 Big West championship in a vote of the nine coaches. The Gauchos claimed five first-place votes and 75 points to capture the favorite’s role. Three-time defending Big West regular season champion Long Beach State accumulated 67 points for second place. The 49ers received two first-place tallies. After Cal Poly was Pacific with 53 points and one first-place vote. Cal State Northridge followed in fifth with 33 points and Cal State Fullerton was sixth (32). Rounding out the poll were UC Irvine with 31 points, UC Davis with 28 and UC Riverside with 21.