By Jacob Rodriguez and Nancy Navarro, Oct. 29, 2024
Cal Poly Pomona women’s soccer team split its matchups against California State University, Los Angeles and California State University, Dominguez Hills, and the men’s soccer team tied both matchups.
The No. 2-ranked women’s soccer team traveled to Los Angeles to take on the Golden Eagles Oct. 17, coming off a two-game winning streak with a 10-0-1 overall record.
Forward Tara Oper recorded the first shot for CPP that Golden Eagles’ goalkeeper Taesja Paopao saved within the first minute of the game. Both teams remained scoreless for the first 41 minutes of play.
Head Coach Jay Mason highlighted the grittiness in the team’s play against the Golden Eagles.
“They are one of the better teams in the country and always competing for the conference championship,” said Mason. “To play at their place, it’s a tough place to play. I mean the surface is very different than what we are used to, so for the girls to adjust and be able to create opportunities to move the ball and find space, that’s what we found.”
Defender Liberty Ortiz found the back of the net off a corner kick assisted by forward Jaclyn Cuevas to give the Broncos a 1-0 lead at 42:53.
“They are our downtown rivals, and since I have been here, we haven’t beaten them,” said Ortiz. “The energy and emotions are always high. I scored off a corner and being that close in the box, you want to throw whatever you can to get the ball in the back of the net in a game like that.”
The Broncos continued building momentum heading into the second half, with two early shots from forward Chloe Green and midfielder Tatum Bowers.
CPP attacked aggressively and pressed forward toward its opponent’s goal, firing six shots in the second half. The Broncos registered 12 shots to the Golden Eagles’ nine.
Forward Vanessa Cruz played the ball into the penalty box and crossed it over to Oper with the opportunity to score a go-ahead goal, extending the Broncos’ lead to 2-0 at 68:46.
The Golden Eagles responded with a late goal at 79:23 to cut the deficit to one. The Broncos held on in large part to their defense, clearing any attack the Golden Eagles attempted and sealing the 2-1 victory.
CPP hosted CSUDH at Kellogg Stadium for the next conference matchup. Forward Kiarra D’Arcangelo registered an early shot toward the bottom center within the first four minutes that was saved by Toros goalkeeper Kylie Yuzan.
With each possession, the Broncos moved the ball to attack on offense but struggled to find the back of the net.
“I told the kids that this was going to happen,” said Head Coach Jay Mason. “There is going to be a team that made it hard for us to find opportunities, and today was a good example of that. We just lack some quality in our attacking third today that we will work on this week and move forward.”
The back line for the Toros cleared out any offensive attacks by the Broncos to keep the game scoreless throughout the first half.
Oper intercepted a pass from a Toro defender and fired it off the top of the goal at 47:37.
Cruz played the ball to midfield and passed it to forward Alexis Macias, who attempted a header that missed wide to the left of the net.
The Broncos’ defense held the Toros to only two shots throughout the game, while registering 22 shots respectively on the night.
“We strive to work on and off the ball,” said Oper. “Working your butt off to cover for your teammates when you’re on the attack moving forward, creating space and defending to keep the ball where we want it.”
With a scoreless second half, it marked the first time this season the Broncos were unable to find success at the net.
CPP moved to a 4-0-2 conference record and currently ranks first in the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings.
The No. 17-ranked men’s team traveled to Los Angeles to face off against the reigning CCAA conference champions and No. 2 Cal State LA.
Neither team earned a shot on target for the first 13 minutes of the game as the Broncos fought to maintain possession of the ball and gain momentum on offense.
Midfielder Max Laguna scored the Broncos first goal at 17:12 off a penalty kick for an early 1-0 lead. This was Laguna’s sixth goal of the season, tying forward Woody Angell for most goals scored on the team.
Head Coach Matt O’Sullivan highlighted the team’s maturity and ability to score early to gain momentum on its side. However, he recognized the team needs to improve on finishing when the game calls for it.
The defense for the Broncos kept a clean sheet in the first half as they looked to extend the lead in the second half and secure their first victory against the Golden Eagles since Sep. 25, 2021.
The Golden Eagles seemed to score the tying goal until the call was overturned by officials due to an offsides penalty.
Cal State LA responded on offense by moving the ball into Bronco territory and blasting five shots that the Broncos’ backline snuffed out.
Just as it seemed the Broncos were on the cusp of victory; Cal State LA netted its equalizer from the head of senior midfielder Carson Nguyen off forward Oscar Warne’s cross at 77:46.
CPP tied against Cal State LA 1-1 moving the Broncos to an 8-1-3 overall record and 3-0-2 conference record.
The Broncos looked to bring home a victory in the second matchup against Cal State Dominguez Hills.
Both teams remained scoreless for the first 28 minutes of the game. The Toros struck first behind an unassisted goal to the bottom right by CSUDH midfielder Logan Kaufman, marking his third this season and fourth of his collegiate career.
“I thought we were a little flat to begin with,” said O’Sullivan. “I think we’re a bit of a waves team. We’re good at moments and then a little bit off at moments, so it’s maximizing the potential of those moments and scoring.”
The Broncos threatened the Toros’ defense in search of their first goal with a fast-paced offense, collecting 13 shots in the second half.
The physical battle between area rivals featured seven combined yellow cards, four were given to the Broncos and one student-athlete from the Toros got ejected from the game.
Forward Jakob Singh hit a shot low to the center of the net for his third goal of the season and defender Jasper Winslow was credited with his second assist this season.
“It felt really good to bring us back from that,” said Singh. “From the feeling of defeat to being able to spark life, I felt the momentum could’ve helped us get another one.”
The match resulted in a 1-1 draw to bring the Broncos to an 8-1-4 overall record overall and 3-0-3 conference record.
Feature image courtesy of CPP Athletics
