STOCKTON, Calif. — Senior captain Sophia Minnite and junior Ruby Casey recorded their first collegiate goals as the Cal Poly women’s soccer team rolled to a 4-1 victory at Pacific on Thursday night at Knoles Field.
“A really exciting performance by our team this evening,” head coach Bernardo Silva said after the match. “I think we’ve been working really hard over the last 10 days to get our offense going, so it was exciting to see a variety of goals being scored from different areas of the field … I’m really proud of the girls, they’ve been putting in a lot of work.”
The offensive outburst started with just over five minutes remaining in the first half when junior Isis Salazar-Ortega — a transfer from Cal State Bakersfield — drew a foul in the box. Junior Miah Thomas stepped to the spot and buried a penalty kick shot to the bottom left corner to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead. It was Thomas’ team-leading fourth goal of the season — tied for third most in the Big West — and second via penalty kick.
Cal Poly (3-2-2) carried that 1-0 advantage into halftime and doubled it in the 67th minute when the unsung hero of the team found the back of the net. Junior Sam Liaty received the ball just outside the right side of the box, made a few moves to create some separation from a Pacific defender and fed a pass toward the top of the box where Minnite was waiting. The fifth-year wasted no time, one timing a shot to the top left post over the outstretched hand of the Pacific goalkeeper. It was Minnite’s first career goal in her 65th appearance as a Mustang. It was a long time coming for the maestro in the midfield, who missed Cal Poly’s last match at Cal due to an injury she sustained in a match at Arizona State on Aug. 30.
“It was super exciting, I couldn’t have asked for a better finish,” she said after the match. “I’ve been always wanting to score a goal like that, and it was one of my goals for my fifth and final season to get on the scoresheet, it was just amazing.”
For Liaty — a transfer from Tarleton State — it was her first assist as a Mustang and the sixth of her collegiate career.
The Tigers (0-7-0) cut Cal Poly’s lead in half less than a minute later with a goal in the 68th minute. Then in the 72nd minute, Salazar-Ortega scored an absolute banger of a goal in her first appearance as a Mustang. After a turnover by Pacific about 30 yards from goal, Salazar-Ortega picked up the ball and fired a high-flying, booming shot into the net. The stellar goal was her first as a Mustang and the eighth of her collegiate career.
The Mustangs added one more goal in the 78th minute to seal the deal and silence the Pacific faithful. Junior Lauren Collier played a ball to senior Annika Smith outside the right side of the box who took a step and fired a dangerous cross into the penalty area. The ball found the head of junior Ruby Casey on the back post, who left no doubt with her finish. It was Casey’s first collegiate goal in her 35th collegiate appearance. For Smith, it was her second assist of the season and ninth of her career while Collier tallied her second assist as a Mustang.
Cal Poly finished with a 14-7 shot advantage in the match, firing half of them on goal. The four goals were just one less than the combined five goals the Mustangs had in their first six games this season.
“Our defense has been really, really strong over the course of the first six games,” Silva said, “and we really needed a performance like tonight to get our offense going, so we’re going to keep building on this one.”
The four goals are the most the Mustangs have scored in a match since Sept. 22, 2024, when they beat Nevada 5-1 on Senior Day.
Cal Poly heads to Seattle on Saturday, Sept. 19, to face the Redhawks at 6 p.m. for its nonconference finale.