SAN JOSE, Calif. – Junior forward Mackenzie Pridham and senior midfielder Chris Gaschen each scored inside the opening three minutes of the Cal Poly men’s soccer program’s Sunday afternoon matchup at San Jose State and junior forward Ian Clark found the back of the Spartan net early in the second half as the Mustangs earned their first victory of the 2012 season with a 3-1 triumph inside Spartan Stadium.

Held scoreless during the first two matches of the year, Cal Poly (1-2-0) snatched Sunday’s lead on 108 seconds as Pridham corralled the ball inside the San Jose State penalty area and weaved through traffic before slotting the first shot attempt of the day past Spartan goalkeeper Michael Schwinn.

Just 57 seconds later, Mustang junior forward Chris Bernardi lifted a pass toward the far post for Gaschen, who headed home his seventh career goal.

After Gaschen was turned away by Schwinn three minutes later and sophomore forward Steve Palacios sailed a shot high in the 16th minute, the Mustangs were held without an attempt the remainder of the half.

Cal Poly, which furthered its unbeaten streak against the Spartans (0-2-0) to seven-straight matches, kept San Jose State without a shot attempt until senior forward Dylan Murphy headed a pass from freshman defender Kyler McLaughlin past Mustang sophomore goalkeeper Chase Hauser.

The Mustangs, however, opened the second half in similar fashion to the first with freshman forward Matt LaGrassa earning his first collegiate point by playing a pass through the Spartan penalty area to Clark, who outdueled Schwinn one-on-one to hand Cal Poly a 3-1 advantage.

At the other end of the pitch, Hauser – making his first start since stopping No. 7 UC Irvine eight times during a 1-0 victory on Sept. 28, 2011 – chalked up three saves against San Jose State.

Sunday’s victory marked Cal Poly’s first multi-goal match since upending No. 13 UC Santa Barbara, 2-1, on Oct. 14, 2011.

Cal Poly returns to the central coast to open a five-match home stand against Valparaiso (1-1-1) on Sunday, Sept. 9. Kickoff for Cal Poly’s 2012 home opener is scheduled for 1 p.m.

---

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

Men's Team of the Week: Nov. 25

Women's Team of the Week: Nov. 25

ECNL Boys Ohio Valley Players to Watch