Cal Poly battles UCSB to a draw in men’s soccer Blue-Green Rivalry game
Following a one-year hiatus, the famed Blue-Green Rivalry soccer game returned to San Luis Obispo on Saturday evening.
Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara dueled in front of a near-sellout crowd of 10,899 soccer fans at Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
A Cal Poly victory would have given the Mustangs a share of the Big West lead with UC Santa Barbara, but after regulation and two overtime periods, the match ended in a scoreless draw.
The Mustangs (5-5-3, 3-1-2 Big West) stand tied with UC Irvine for second place in the conference standings, and UCSB (8-3-4, 4-0-2 Big West) remained in first place.
Mustangs midfielder Neil Boyal said the game felt like “a 110-minute fight.”
“I’m really proud of the boys and our mental fortitude,” Boyal said.
Cal Poly men’s soccer head coach Steve Sampson said each defense allowed limited opportunities to score.
“Both team had chances, both teams defended well and both teams had great goalkeepers,” Sampson said.
Each team recorded 10 shot attempts — Emmanuel Perez and Daniel Normann each earned three for the Mustangs, while Nathan Colley, Drew Patterson, Ori Bitton and Josh Graham each recorded one.
Cal Poly goalkeeper Carlos Arce-Hurtado earned his fifth shutout of the season with two saves.
Arce-Hurtado made his first save in the 12th minute, turned back a shot by forward Thaabit Baartman.
Gaucho goalkeeper Leroy Zeller drew two saves of his own in the first period, as freshmen Patterson and Colley made attempts in the 25th and 44th minutes.
As regulation wound down, Arce-Hurtado grabbed a 84th-minute save against Baartman.
UCSB had an opportunity for a golden goal in the 95th minute, but defender Jacob Glass headed away a shot away from Finn Ballard McBride on the goal line.
Senior Josh Graham came off the bench for the Mustangs after he was sidelined with an injury for seven games.
“Playing was amazing — what’s a better game to come back for!” Graham said.
The lively, boisterous student section was “brilliant,” Graham added.
With 10,899 fans in attendance, the crowd was the largest since 2019’s Blue-Green Rivalry sellout match, which attracted 11,075 attendees, and the 24th largest regular season crowd in NCAA history.
Fans threw hundreds of tortillas onto the pitch and officials threatened to end the match in a forfeit. However, the game was played to the end of the second overtime period.
“I hope the fans appreciate the effort that these players put in for their fellow students,” Sampson said.
Graham said while he was disappointed the Mustangs did not secure a victory, the team’s focus will shift to its next opponent.
Cal Poly will play at UC Riverside on Oct. 20 at 7 p.m.
Coach Sampson said the Mustangs will travel to Southern California on Tuesday, play Wednesday evening and return to San Luis Obispo by 3 a.m. Thursday.
“These guys are up at 7, 8 o’clock for class. It’s absolutely exhausting and a grind,” Sampson said. “I love the culture that these leaders have established to put this game behind us and move onto the next.”
This story was originally published October 17, 2021 at 12:41 AM with the headline "Cal Poly battles UCSB to a draw in men’s soccer Blue-Green Rivalry game."
