DAVIS – Junior midfielder Matt LaGrassa scored a 59th-minute equalizer, but the Cal Poly men’s soccer team – which required a victory Wednesday at UC Davis to qualify for the Big West Conference Tournament – suffered a 2-1, double-overtime defeat at Aggie Soccer Field.

Junior goalkeeper Wade Hamilton chalked up seven saves to finish the year with a Big West-leading 96 for Cal Poly (8-7-4, 3-5-2), which outshot the Aggies (7-3-9, 5-3-2) 22-19 and produced 11 corner kick opportunities.

The Mustangs entered the match with 11 points in the Big West North Division standings, trailing second-place UC Davis by three and third-place Sacramento State by two. Cal Poly could have clinched the division’s No. 2 seed with a win. Instead, UC Davis grabbed the second seed. UC Santa Barbara, which defeated Sacramento State 2-1 earlier Wednesday, had previously clinched the No. 1 seed.  For the Nov. 8, 12 and 15 conference tournament.

“We played extremely well today. We had them penned in most of the first half and all of second,” Cal Poly interim head coach Phil Ruskin said. “We had great, great chances. We had possession in their half of the field. We continued to create and create opportunities. There was no quit in our group today.”

Hamilton, whose 96 saves rank third in Cal Poly single season history, was forced to record four in the first half to keep the match scoreless. Cal Poly, meanwhile, produced eight shot attempts in the opening 45 minutes with sophomore winger Justin Dhillon forcing a save from UC Davis goalkeeper Armando Quezada 29 seconds prior to the break.

Quezada stopped Dhillon again four minutes into the second half, but it was the Aggies who produced the opening goal on 52 minutes with defender Ian Palmer firing from 30 yards into the upper left corner of the Mustang net.

The Mustangs, however, hit back six and-a-half minutes later with sophomore midfielder Sean Dhillon crossing to LaGrassa, who cracked goal No. 6 of 2014 into the upper right corner of the Aggie net.

“It was a wonderful strike,” said Ruskin of LaGrassa's goal. “It got over the goalkeeper and Matt struck it as well as you can strike a ball. I thought that it was a reward for how we played today. We always knew a goal was coming. We thought the second was coming as well.”

The Mustangs tested Quezada twice more in regulation, with the second chance seeing Justin Dhillon stopped with 58 seconds remaining.

Into the first overtime period, Cal Poly’s best chance to snatch victory came in the 95th, as Quezada turned a Justin Dhillon header away.

UC Davis, which could have qualified for the Big West Tournament with a draw, found the game-winning goal five minutes from full time. After a shot from Mustang freshman midfielder Joseph Bolous was blocked at one end, Aggie midfielder Noah Wilson popped a countering pass out to forward Dashiell MacNamara, who beat Hamilton in a one-versus-one situation.

Wednesday’s contest marked the final match in a Mustang uniform for senior midfielder Steve Palacios, who scored his first collegiate goals this season at North Carolina State (Aug. 31) and versus Northern Illinois (Sept. 5) and started 18 of 19 games for the Mustangs this year. Palacios finished his career ranked 13th all-time with 67 games played.

Despite Wednesday’s loss, Cal Poly still finished with its fourth winning season in the previous five years.

“I’m proud of our guys for overcoming all of the adversity we faced this season,” Ruskin added. “We had some early injuries, we had guys out for the year and we had guys playing out of position. But I’m proud of how out guys stepped up. It will make us a stronger team going forward.

“I’ve never been more proud of a group that I’ve coached and am extremely pleased with our resilience under extreme adversity. I’m so proud to be the head coach of this team.”

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