In the past two seasons, the Mustangs have had championship expectations. In 2021, the team reached the Big West Championship match but fell short to UC Irvine.
Last season, the Mustangs finished first in the Big West regular season but were eliminated in the semifinals by Long Beach State.
Now, the Mustangs will have another shot at bringing home a Big West Championship and possible NCAA Tournament appearance in their matchup against the No. 5 seed UC Irvine following their 2-1 win over the No. 2 seed UC Davis.
The Mustangs (10-7-3) controlled the possession battle early over the Aggies.
It took only two minutes for the Mustangs, who came into the tournament as the No. 3 seed, to force a save from the Aggie goalkeeper as they applied pressure from the opening kickoff.
In the 28th minute, junior forward Emily Nedom poached a loose ball into the net after it got past several Davis and Cal Poly players to make it 1-0.
But the advantage would only last two minutes.
In the 30th minute, a Davis free kick near the halfway line took an awkward bounce and got by junior goalkeeper Mackenzie Samuel to equalize the game.
The game went into halftime with both teams tied at 1-1.
UC Davis would come out of the break much like how Cal Poly started it, by applying pressure and getting shots on goal.
After the first ten minutes of the half, Cal Poly evened the pressure out before going on the attack.
That led to a breakthrough in the 81st minute, Cal Poly earned a penalty after sophomore midfielder Jessie Halladay was hacked down entering the box.
Halladay stepped up to the spot and slotted it to her right to put the Mustangs in front with less than ten minutes left for Davis to find an equalizer.
The best chance for UC Davis arose in the 88th minute. The Aggies had a free kick just outside the Cal Poly penalty area.
The first shot rebounded off a Mustang defender, which went straight to a UC Davis player who volleyed it towards the top corner.
But it was Samuel who made an amazing stop, crashing into the goal but keeping the lead for the Mustangs.
Cal Poly cleared it from their box and held on as time expired.
After two seasons of falling short of a championship, the Mustangs will have another shot against UC Irvine on Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. at Titan Stadium for the 2023 Big West Championship.