Cal Poly women’s soccer loses at home for 1st time this season, 2-1 to Pepperdine

The Cal Poly women’s soccer team lost at home for the first time this season on Friday night, as Pepperdine scored in overtime to leave Alex G. Spanos Stadium with a 2-1 victory.

The Mustangs came into the evening 3-0-0 in Spanos Stadium in 2016, including two wins in golden-goal fashion. On Friday, though, it was the Waves (5-3-2) who emerged with the sudden-death outcome, as Bri Visalli ran onto a loose ball at the top of the penalty area following a clearance attempt before blasting a 95th-minute game winner into an empty net.

It was the second goal of the season for Visalli, an All-West Region honoree in 2015.

Cal Poly, missing three junior and senior starters due to injuries, established a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute when senior midfielder Nicole Wheeler lobbed a pass from the right flank down to freshman Jessica Johnson, who redirected to nearby sophomore Stephanie Magellan for a close-range header. Pepperdine goalkeeper Hannah Seabert leaped to get a hand on the ball but couldn’t turn its momentum.

It was the second goal in a four-game stretch for Magellan, who netted the game winner against CSU Bakersfield on Sept. 11. All of the Mustangs’ 11 goals this year have been tallied by either freshmen or sophomores.

Cal Poly (4-5-1) will continue its three-match homestand by hosting Seattle (4-4-1) at noon Sunday.

This story was originally published September 23, 2016 at 11:37 PM with the headline "Cal Poly women’s soccer loses at home for 1st time this season, 2-1 to Pepperdine."