Photos and Musings from another Blue-Green Rivalry game

Cal Poly fans didn’t have a lot to cheer about on Sunday. By Owen Main

On Sunday night, in front of a sellout crowd at Alex G. Spanos Stadium, UCSB scored twice in the first half and held-on with ten men for the last 19-plus minutes to defeat Cal Poly 2-0.

In front of 11,075 fans — mostly students — UCSB dominated the first 30 minutes of the game en route to the victory. Cal Poly, who was without at least three key defensive players, struggled to gain traction both literally (the field was still really wet from the weekend rain and football game) and figuratively (the Gauchos dominated possession early-on).

Still, there were a few opportunities in the second half that the Mustangs just couldn’t put into the back of the net. For the Cal Poly faithful, it was a frustrating end to the match, with the UCSB captain taunting the student section and the crowd filing out of the stadium with their heads down.

The emotion

This game is always full of emotion, but I felt like something was missing this time. Perhaps the senior class from last year — George Malki, Mackenzie Pridham, etc… — made a stronger connection with the fans. Last season, the stadium was full a full hour ahead of the match. This season, students were still filing in during the national anthem. Whatever the reason, it didn’t quite feel the same, despite the sellout.

The shushing

UCSB scored early in this match and gave the crowd the single finger shushing sign. For whatever reason, the crowd seemed to obey for most of the rest of the game.

Any other crowd might have taken the shushing as a reason to get louder, which is why the second UCSB goal was such a dagger. Sure, there were chants, there was a random cell phone light thing, and there were the typical taunts of the opposition’s goalie. But there wasn’t anything sustained or filled with passion, as there has been in previous years.

On a side note, who decided to make the UCSB match a 5:00 pm game on a Sunday afternoon? Whoever does must hate sports and America, but I digress. I guess my point is that I felt like something was missing. Was it just me?

The throwing

I don’t want to get into a huge discussion of tortillas. Tortilla throwing has become something UCSB soccer and, by proxy, the Big West Conference hangs its hat on. It’s a tradition unlike any other and the only time in a match where I’ve ever seen items being thrown onto the field of play allowed — or in this case, downright encouraged.

What I don’t understand is the outrage. One media member from Santa Barbara on the sideline found a piece of something that wasn’t a tortilla that had been thrown on the field.

“They threw this at our goalie,” he told me.

“Yeah, throwing things on the field is pretty lame I said.”

He agreed.

“Tortillas too, right?” I asked.

Whoa whoa whoa.

He tried to tell me tortillas were fine but throwing other things onto the field during the game wasn’t ok. So, here’s my point. Once things are allowed to be thrown onto the field — at the players on either team — during the game, it sets a dangerous precedent. It’s hard to split hairs at that point, especially when UCSB is playing an away game.

Whoever threw the metal thing (looked like maybe a lighter??) onto the field is an idiot who should have been ejected immediately. But so, too, should fans who throw ANYTHING at players while the game is going on — whether it’s a tortilla or not.

The three seconds

Earlier this season, I was picking the brain of a former Cal Poly soccer player about the anatomy of a penalty kick. He told me that after the referee blows his whistle, the penalty taker should always count to three before his run-up to take the kick. I’ve seen two Cal Poly men this season have PK’s saved against them and I don’t know if either has paused prior to the run-up.

Maybe it had nothing to do with it, but contrast it with a penalty kick from the same night in MLS. FC Dallas midfielder Michel is one of the best in the business at penalties. He takes FOREVER in this one (starting at about 1:45 of the video). The official even has to blow his whistle a second time to get him to start his run-up. Not surprisingly, he buries the shot in the back of the net.

The aftermath

Cal Poly is now in fourth place with a trip to rugged UC Davis in front of them. The game is on Wednesday afternoon at 2:00pm, and everything is on the line. To make the conference tournament, they’ll need to win and possibly hope for a UCSB win over Sacramento State. There are a number of scenarios, but winning is the key…

Photos by Owen Main

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