Cal Poly Dumps No. 1 Cal
BERKELEY, Calif. -- No. 5 Cal Poly built a two-goal lead in the third quarter against No. 1 Cal on Saturday afternoon and sophomore goalie Tony Epshetyn made it stand up the rest of the way as the Mustangs upended the top-ranked Bears, 13-10.
The victory gives Cal Poly (14-2) a perfect 7-0 mark in the WCLL and the top seed in the upcoming conference tournament. Cal (12-1) can clinch the second seed with a win next weekend over Stanford.
Cal Poly jumped out to a 2-0 lead to start the game off goals from Doug Gosselin and Mitch Stickney, but Cal scored four of the next five goals -- including a goal by Dylan Lee as time expired - to give the Bears a 4-3 advantage after one frame.
John Corbolotti opened the second with a goal for the Mustangs and then set up Gosselin for a 5-4 lead. Stickney struck again to balloon the lead to two and Cal Poly was still leading by a deuce, 7-5, late in the half.
Despite the outstanding play of Epshetyn (pictured), who was replacing the Mustangs' All-American goalie Sean Pihl, Cal managed to trim the lead to 7-6 at the break on a Nate DeGroat marker.
Jake Lombardo tied the game early in the third for Cal, but A.J. Guralas and Stickney countered for a 9-7 bulge that the Bears could never undo.
Poly managed to build a three-goal lead on three different occasions - including the final score -- as the last undefeated team in MCLA Division I couldn't find an answer.
Epshetyn was credited with 15 saves in the victory while Stickney finished with five goals to lead the offense.
Post game talk from the coaches after the win pic.twitter.com/JaLS5Gs19b
— Cal Poly Lacrosse (@CalPolyLax) April 15, 2017