SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — San Diego answered an early setback with a
Hannah Faklaris equalizer and held firm through a busy second half, earning a 1-1 draw at Cal Poly on Thursday at Mustang Memorial Field. The result moves the Toreros to 1-1-2 and leaves them unbeaten in three of their first four matches. Cal Poly, which entered the night 2-1-0, moves to 2-1-1.
The Mustangs went ahead in the sixth minute on the only ball that crossed the San Diego line all evening.
Las Toreras took over from there. Tamia Graham forced a block in the 22nd minute, Lily Johnson tested the goal a minute later, and two corner kicks inside a three-minute stretch kept Cal Poly pinned in its own end. The equalizer arrived in the 26th minute, when Faklaris got on the end of a Mia Teran service and finished for her first goal of the season. San Diego went to the break level at 1-1 after outshooting the Mustangs 6-2 in the opening half and taking both of the period's corner kicks.
Teran, a freshman who scored her first career goal in Sunday's 1-0 win over California, now has one goal and one assist through four matches this season.
Cal Poly came out pressing after the interval, but the Toreros made every look a difficult one. Chloe Walls turned away the Mustangs' best chances in the 87th and 90th minutes, San Diego got a body in front of another attempt in the closing seconds, and a team save in the 78th minute secured the scoreline.Â
For the match, the Toreros outshot Cal Poly 9-7, held a 4-2 edge in corner kicks and finished with 51% possession. Walls went the full 90 minutes and finished with three saves. Head coach Greg LaPorte used 21 players on the night, and the group stayed united from start to finish.
"I'm proud of the way we competed tonight," LaPorte said. "Cal Poly made it difficult, but we stayed together, responded to the challenges in the game and dominated moments where we played some really good soccer. We would have loved to leave with the win, but earning a result on the road is another positive step for this group."
UP NEXT
San Diego stays on the road to open September, traveling to UTEP on Thursday, Sept. 3. Kickoff at University Field in El Paso, Texas is set for 7 p.m., and the match streams on MW+.
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