Sacramento State men’s soccer stumble with mistakes against Cal Poly conceding an own goal by junior defender Mason McCann.

Sac State (3-10-3, 1-7-0) lost to the Mustangs 4-2, (10-6-2, 3-3-2) . The Hornets are mathematically alive for playoffs thanks to the draw between UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis.

“The team battled throughout the game especially after we went down 3-1 in the second half,” men’s soccer head coach Mike Linenberger said.

The Hornets found themselves down early after Cal Poly’s forward George Malki redirected a cross from Mustang’s Ari Lassiter.

Sac State answered back with a goal of its own in the 35th minute by freshman defender Andrew Gosselin, he is the third Hornet to score two goals this season.

The Hornets ended the first half tied 1-1, but Cal Poly held the shot advantage 11-7 and corners 1-0.

12 minutes into the second half, Sac State gave Cal Poly the lead after McCann’s own goal, 2-1.

“[McCann] feels terrible about the own goal he knocked in,” Linenberger said. “But it was not the only mistake we made tonight.”  

The Mustangs would add to their lead in the 63rd minute as they took advantage senior forward Mackenzie Pridham pushed past the Sac State defenders scoring his 13th goal of the season. It was Pridham’s 26th career goal which tied him for the most in Cal Poly’s school history.

The Hornets cut into the lead when sophomore midfielder Edwin Luna scored a goal of his own. Freshman defender Preston Davis played a through pass to Luna as he put the ball past the outstretched hand of Cal Poly’s Wade Hamilton.

“The goal I scored helped us out,” Luna said. “[Davis] played a great ball to me and I had to finish the play with a goal.”  

Sac State will look to regroup against UCSB at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Hornet Field.