SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Sept. 21, 2023) — The greatest rivalry in college soccer returns on Saturday night, as UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer hosts Cal Poly for the first of two Blue-Green Rivalry matches in 2023. Saturday's contest will not count toward The Big West standings, as the Gauchos will officially open conference play on the road at UC San Diego on Wednesday, September 27.
 
The Blue-Green Rivalry at Harder Stadium is consistently one the most attended matches in the country, with six of the top ten on-campus regular season attendances in NCAA Men's Soccer history coming in this fixture. Saturday is also Alumni Night, as UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer will welcome former players back to Harder Stadium with a celebration at halftime.
 
WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH
Saturday night's Blue-Green Rivalry match will kick off at 7 p.m. from Harder Stadium. Due to big crowds and UC Santa Barbara's move-in weekend, fans are advised to arrive early to find parking and get into the stadium. Fans can catch the action from afar by watching live on ESPN+ and by following the live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com.
 
Kickoff in Wednesday night's Big West opener from La Jolla is also set for 7 p.m. at Triton Soccer Stadium. The match will be live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available through ucsbgauchos.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT
It was an evening to forget for UC Santa Barbara in their last match, losing 3-0 at California Baptist in Riverside. The Gauchos also lost their captain, Lucas Gonzalez, to an apparent leg injury. He is unlikely to feature against the Mustangs on Saturday.
 
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE GAUCHOS (4-4)
It has been home sweet home for UC Santa Barbara so far this season, with each of their four victories coming in their last four home matches at Harder Stadium. The Gauchos have scored 14 of their 16 goals on home soil this season, including a five-goal night against Utah Valley.
 
However, the Blue and Gold are expecting to be without their top two scorers on Saturday night. Nemo Philipp leads the team with four goals but went off injured against Kansas City and has not played since. Likewise, the team's captain and assists leader Lucas Gonzalez left Tuesday night's match in the eighth minute and did not return.
 
The good news for the Gauchos is they have plenty of other options in attack. Salvador Aguilar, who scored five goals in nine matches last season, is fully recovered from his ACL injury and back available, having started the last two contests. He is looking for his first goal of the season. Additionally, eight players other than Philipp and Gonzalez have already found the net at least once this year. Crafty forward Alexis Ledoux and do-everything midfielder Mikkel Goeling each have two.
 
In the creative department, Jorge Aldana provides an option from his wing-back position, having served up two assists already. His fellow wing-backs Eddie Villeda and Kenny Villatoro have each scored a goal this season.
 
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS (2-3-1)
Cal Poly may only have two wins all season but they have come in their last two matches, most recently a 4-0 victory on the road at Gonzaga Wednesday night. The Mustangs are now unbeaten in their last three matches after starting the season 0-3.
 
Forward Jackson Kestler scored twice in the win over the Zags, bringing his season total to a team-high three. Kestler also leads the team with two assists, one of three Mustangs to provide multiple helpers through their first six contests. Sean McTague and Luke Schaefer are the only other Cal Poly players with more than one goal.
 
The Mustangs are led by first-year head coach Oige Kennedy, who was hired after the end of the 2022 season. This is Kennedy's first Division-I head coaching position, though he did win two NCAA Division-II National Championships as head coach at Fort Lewis College before taking an assistant role at Stanford.
 
SCOUTING THE TRITONS (1-5-2)
Despite losing their most recent match, UC San Diego still comes into the weekend in their best form of the season. In their last three contests, the Tritons earned their first win of the season on the road at Air Force, then battled to a draw at Santa Clara before suffering a close 2-1 loss to cross-town rivals No. 22 San Diego. The Tritons will host Utah Tech on Saturday before hosting the Gauchos.
 
Midfielder Iñaki Iribarren leads The Big West with five goals, including four in the last three matches. Alessandro Allen is the only other Triton with more than one, while Max Carvalho's lone goal of the season was the winner against Air Force.
 
The Tritons are without stellar goalkeeper Dominic Peters this year following his graduation. Peters led The Big West in goals-against average (.903) and save percentage (.811) in 2022 and was an All-Big West Second Team selection.