SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The No. 13 UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer team renews the Blue-Green Rivalry this weekend, traveling to San Luis Obispo to take on Cal Poly on Saturday. The Gauchos have not lost to the Mustangs since 2018 and swept the series last season, winning 2-0 in Santa Barbara and 1-0 in San Luis Obispo. Saturday's match is the first of two meetings this year, a non-conference contest that will not affect The Big West standings.
 
WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH
Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at Mustang Memorial Field in San Luis Obispo. Fans traveling to the match can purchase tickets here, and the game will also be broadcast live on ESPN+ with live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos come into Saturday's action riding a five-game unbeaten streak and two-match winning streak after defeating Utah Valley, 4-1, in Utah last Thursday and Portland, 3-0, in Santa Barbara on Sunday in front of a crowd of nearly 4,700. The Gauchos have continued to climb in the national rankings as well, moving up to No. 13 in this week's United Soccer Coaches Poll and checking in at No. 6 in the NCAA's first Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) release of the year. 
 
GAUCHOS TO KNOW
Santa Barbara has one of the best attacks in the country, and the man who stands tallest among it is the five-foot-six Frenchman, Alexis Ledoux. The senior has scored seven of the Gauchos' 19 goals, the 14^th most by a Division I team and the fifth most by a single player so far this season. He also has three assists on the year, putting him fourth among all players with 17 total points.
 
While Santa Barbara has increased its firepower from last year, the biggest improvement has been at the back for the Gauchos, who own the country's seventh-best goals-against-average (0.625) and, in combination with their offense, the third-best goal differential (+14). One of the single biggest contributors to that defensive success has been Calle Mollerberg. After missing last season due to a knee injury, the Swede has been ever-present at center back this year, playing all 90 minutes in all but two of the Gauchos' eight games so far.
 
The only man to play every minute of the season has been goalkeeper David Mitzner, and the captain has played his role as defensive anchor almost perfectly. A veteran leader and imposing figure in the box, Mitzner has maintained a 0.762 save percentage so far this season, which has proved plenty when the Gauchos opponents are managing just a 0.525 clip.
 
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
Cal Poly (2-3-3) comes into Saturday's match off the back of consecutive 1-1 draws but unbeaten in their last four matches, having shut out San Jose State and Gonzaga the first week of September in their only home contests so far.
 
Goalkeeper Nicky McCune was named Big West Defensive Player of the Week after those back-to-back clean sheets, which included a penalty save. The junior has three shutouts to his name this season, but the Mustang offense has been held scoreless just as many times.
 
While Cal Poly has been decent at keeping their opponents out this season, ranking 75^th in team goals-against average, they have struggled to find the back of the net themselves, ranking 160^th nationally and ninth out of 10 Big West teams in scoring. Redshirt freshman midfielder Quinn Mahoney is the only Mustang to score multiple goals on the season with three, having tallied one in each of Cal Poly's last three games.
 
UP NEXT
Santa Barbara returns home to open Big West play next week, hosting UC San Diego on Wednesday, Oct. 2 for the conference opener before taking on Cal Poly in the second leg of the Blue-Green Rivalry at Harder Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 6. Fans can purchase tickets to all Gaucho home games at ucsbgauchos.com/tickets, and UC Santa Barbara students get in free with their ID. Both of next week's matches will be live on ESPN+ with live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com. The Oct. 6 match against the Mustangs will also be nationally televised on ESPNU.