Cal Poly men’s soccer excited over ‘bright spots’ after up-and-down 2016 season

Cal Poly men’s soccer head coach Steve Sampson wanted to test his team this season, so he compiled the most ambitious schedule in school history.

The Mustangs opened the 2016 campaign with an exhibition match against then No. 1 Stanford, followed by regular season matches against then No. 8 North Carolina, then No. 5 Wake Forest, then No. 11 San Diego State and then No. 6 UCLA before beginning the Big West Conference season.

“As far as I’m concerned, if you want to be the best, you have to play the best,” Sampson said.

The young Mustangs dropped their first four regular season games (two against ranked opponents) en route to a 5-9-3 overall record with a 3-5-2 Big West mark. Cal Poly won its last two games to leave their chance at a Big West Tournament berth up to UC Davis but ultimately were left out after the Aggies overtook the Mustangs for third place in the North Division standings.

Cal Poly played its best soccer at home, tying San Diego State before upsetting UCLA 1-0 on its way to a 4-2-2 record at Alex G. Spanos Stadium. Sampson said that for the Mustangs to take the next step, they have to learn how to win on the road — which is why he scheduled so many tough games away.

“You have to learn to go on the road and get results,” Sampson said. “The likelihood of us getting a home berth for first-, second-, or third-round NCAA berth is remote.”

Sampson went on to say that a tough schedule early on helps the coaches understand the needs of the team to address them moving forward.

The team, which contained 17 underclassmen — 12 of which were freshman — on a roster of 31 received a trial by fire. Seven of the Mustang’s opponents — nearly half the teams they played this season — advanced to the NCAA playoffs.

Senior forward Justin Dhillon said the tough schedule helped season the young players.

“After playing (the big programs), they’ve seen it all,” Dhillon said. “That’s not something I was necessarily able to say after my freshman year. But the freshman now are going to be like, ‘We’ve played No. 1, we’ve played No. 2, we know what it looks like.’ For the rest of their time here they’ll know what this program needs to be able to compete with them. I think we can compete with them, and we proved that.”

And Sampson is planning more of the same next year. He said the Mustangs will play Notre Dame, Indiana, Maryland, Georgetown, UCLA and San Diego State before beginning grueling Big West Conference play.

STRIKERS

The Mustangs will lose two-time All-Big West selection Dhillon to graduation. The L.A. Galaxy Academy product led the team in goals (7) — third-most in the Big West, which included the game-winner in Cal Poly’s win over UCLA — and assists (3).

Dhillon hopes to continue his career professionally and over the course of the next few weeks will organize his push to receive an invite to the MLS Combine in January.

Even if MLS doesn’t pan out, Dhillon is set on playing.

“I’ve played soccer too long and love the sport way too much to just just give up that easy,” he said. “I promise you I will be playing somewhere.”

His playmaking ability up top will be sorely missed next year, but Sampson is confident in finding a replacement either in his incoming recruiting class or existing player pool.

Freshman forward Kenneth Higgins, who scored a goal and had an assist in 17 appearances, was named to the Big West All-Freshman team. Higgins started 15 of 17 games and was second on the team with 19 shot attempts.

MIDFIELD

Midfield play was highlighted by Christian Enriquez, who was honored as Big West Freshman of the Year, just the third time the program has picked up that award. He was the first Cal Poly winner since defender Patrick Sigler in 2008. Enriquez started 16 of 17 games this season and scored his first goal against Blue-Green rival UC Santa Barbara at home. In addition to his Freshman of the Year award, Enriquez was also named to the Big West All-Freshman team and was recently called up to the U.S. U-19 national team.

Ruben Duran earned an All-Big West honorable mention in his final season. Duran tied for the second-most assists on the team with two and started 16 of 17 games this year. The senior started his last 36 of 38 appearances for the Mustangs.

DEFENSE

Cal Poly will also have a big hole to fill in the back. All-Big West first-teamer Kody Wakasa — the program’s all-time leader in appearances with 83 and starts with 81 — finished the year as the team’s second leading scorer with two goals and helped secure three shutouts in his final season. Over his career in the back, the Mustangs recorded 21 shutouts.

Minus Wakasa, the rest of the starting backline will return and will be bolstered by a healthy Brett Foreman.

GOALKEEPER

Also earning an All-Big West honorable mention in his first season in goal for the Mustangs was junior Eric Kam. He boasted the conference’s second best goals against average (1.08) at season’s end, fourth in goals allowed (17) and fifth in save percentage (.712).

“I’m not one to say this, and we have a lot of work to do, but I’m excited.” Sampson said. “We have a lot of bright spots for next season.”

This story was originally published December 8, 2016 at 1:26 PM with the headline "Cal Poly men’s soccer excited over ‘bright spots’ after up-and-down 2016 season."