IRVINE, Calif. – Senior center back Patrick Sigler’s 53rd-minute penalty stood as the difference on Wednesday evening as the Cal Poly men’s soccer team – playing a man down for the final 33 minutes – defeated the highest-ranked opponent in program history by producing a 1-0 triumph against No. 7 UC Irvine at Anteater Stadium.

Freshman goalkeeper Chase Hauser registered a career-high eight saves in his first collegiate start for Cal Poly (4-3-2, 1-0-0), which notched its first away victory against UC Irvine (8-2-0) in seven seasons.

Outshot on the night, 18-3, Cal Poly was held without an attempt on target until senior midfielder Kyle Montgomery was taken down inside the UC Irvine penalty area after beating his defender in the 53rd minute. Sigler (above) stepped to the spot and buried Cal Poly’s first penalty of the season to provide the Mustangs their first win against a ranked foe since downing then-No. 19 UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 27, 2010.

“We only had a handful of chances tonight and Kyle did a great job of getting past his defender in isolation. Patrick took the penalty beautifully,” said sixth-year head coach Paul Holocher of Sigler’s first goal of the season. “The guys showed a lot of heart and commitment to get the job done against a very good UC Irvine team that has a lot of attacking weapons.”

Mustang junior forward Benny Estes sailed a shot attempt high 20 seconds into the match and sophomore forward George Malki also went high during the 23rd minute. Sigler’s penalty accounted for Cal Poly only other attempt on the night.

At the other end of Anteater Stadium, Hauser recorded four saves during the final 32 minutes to preserve victory.

“For a freshman that didn’t know he was going to start until a couple of minutes before the match, Chase was fantastic all night,” Holocher added. “He came up with all of the saves he needed to make, he was good on crosses and showed a lot of composure and maturity.”

Cal Poly enjoys a seven-day hiatus before opening a four-match home stand on Wednesday, Oct. 5 versus UC Davis at Alex G. Spanos Stadium.