A Tale of Two Teams
The tradition of the Cal Poly-UC Santa Barbara rivalry.
This story ran originally in print and online in Mustang News.
Twenty-two years.
Forty-three games.
One unforgettable rivalry.
Every October in San Luis Obispo, the weather becomes cooler with the fall season, new students endure midterms for the first time and greek life accepts new members. But there’s one more fall event that may trump all others — the biggest sporting event of the year.
The Blue-Green men’s soccer game.
The rivalry at large
The Blue-Green rivalry began in 1921 with a football game between Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara — Santa Barbara Junior College at the time — on Nov. 5. The Mustangs won 42–0 in the first scene of this saga. In 1970, UC Santa Barbara made the change into NCAA Division I competition, halting the rivalry until Cal Poly joined the Division I ranks in 1994. In 2012, the Blue-Green rivalry was formally recognized by both schools.
The rivalry between the two schools includes ten sports: cross country, volleyball, soccer, swimming and diving, basketball, tennis, track and field, men’s golf, softball and baseball. But the most popular sport of the rivalry lies in men’s soccer.
Men’s soccer
The men’s soccer Blue-Green rivalry was first established in 1994 following the Mustangs’ transition into Division I athletics. Sept. 3, 1994 saw the Mustangs win the inaugural match 2–0.
Since that first match, the two teams have played in some of the most watched games in NCAA soccer history. According to College Soccer News, six of the ten highest-attended regular season college men’s soccer matches have featured these two teams and their passionate fan bases. In each of the past five home games, Cal Poly has filled the 11,075-seat Alex. G Spanos Stadium to capacity. It’s often considered the best rivalry in the country, and recent history shows exactly why.
From 1999 to 2007, the Gauchos won 15 of 17 matches against the Mustangs. But in the past few seasons, the Mustangs have been much more competitive, posting a 3–2–3 record since 2012.
Three of the past four games have gone into double overtime, highlighted by last season’s 3–2 overtime thriller won by the Mustangs at Spanos. Senior defender Kody Wakasa’s header in the 104th minute, the first goal of his career, prompted the audience to rush the field.
One week later, sophomore forward Jared Pressley scored off a rebound with six seconds remaining in regulation to snatch victory away from the Gauchos in Santa Barbara.
Coach Steve Sampson, in his second season as head coach of the men’s soccer team, has a personal connection to each school. His daughter Emily graduated from UC Santa Barbara and his son Brandon graduated from Cal Poly.
Looking forward
After the success of last season’s team, which made it to the NCAA tournament, the Mustangs have had more of a down year.
Some growing pains can be expected with inexperienced players being required to step into bigger roles, and the Mustangs have shown just that. With six matches left in the 2016 season at press time, the Mustangs stand at 3–7–2 overall. Their 1–3–1 Big West Conference record puts them in seventh out of eight teams.
Losing top talents in goalkeeper Wade Hamilton, midfielder Chase Minter and defender Kip Colvey to the professional league left the Mustangs with many holes in the starting 11 to fill. This means relying on young talent such as redshirt sophomore Nick Carroll as defender, freshmen Christian Enriquez and Kenneth Higgins as midfielders and sophomore George Grote as forward to pick up the slack.
On the other side, the Gauchos look like stiff competition at the top of the conference table with a 7–5–2 record, 3–0–2 in the Big West. UC Santa Barbara features two of the conference’s top four scorers and leads the conference in scoring as a team. But there is hope for the Mustangs. The Gauchos are the top scoring offense in conference, but they also feature the second-worst defense in goals allowed.
With senior forward Justin Dhillon already notching six goals this season, the Mustang attack could find opportunity against the Gauchos’ defense. If they do, they could play spoiler for UC Santa Barbara’s NCAA tournament hopes.
No matter what happens in the game, you can expect one thing above all else Saturday night at Spanos: the best men’s soccer rivalry in the country with the best soccer fans in the nation.
Twenty-two years.
Forty-three going on forty-four games.
One unforgettable night of soccer.
