By Fredy Ramirez
Men’s soccer began California Collegiate Athletic Association play with a 1-0 home loss to Cal State Dominguez Hills.
The Broncos outshot the Toros 21-13 but failed to finish.
The Broncos out-played the Toros for most of the game, but the Toros were able to put the ball in the back of the net.
“That’s the tough part about soccer, you can dominate a game and you don’t always win,” said Head coach Adam Reeves.
CPP got off to a slow start as Dominguez Hills applied pressure early and often during the first 10 minutes of the game.
The Broncos settled in and maintained the ball on the Toros side of the field for most of the first half.
Despite managing eight shots in the first half compared to the Toro’s six Cal Poly could not find the breakthrough.
The Broncos applied pressure primarily through the right side in the first half.
The teams entered halftime tied, but CPP outplayed the Toros for most of the half.
“We settled in after 10 minutes, and I thought we were very very good for large portions of the game,” said Reeves.
CPP picked up where they left off during the second half.
As in the first half, CPP outshot Dominguez Hills this time 13 to seven and applied pressure for most of the second half shooting from all sides of the field.
However, the Broncos failed to score.
They missed a golden opportunity after a shot rebounded off the post to a player who missed wide left from three feet away.
“Unfortunately, our strength, was still our strength; we just weren’t clinical the final third of the field,” said Reeves. “We hit the crossbar or post three times and rebounds were there and we missed them.”
CSU Dominguez Hills scored on a breakaway ball during the 76th minute through junior midfielder Adam Vargas.
Vargas picked up the ball from teammate Gilberto Rocha on the left side of the field.
He then cut inside onto his right foot and rifled a shot into the far corner where senior Cal Poly goalkeeper Jason Trejos could only stretch his left arm in vain.
They pushed the ball down the field and capitalized on the opportunity. CPP seemed to fall asleep a bit during the play.
The Broncos continued to play hard but as time continued to dwindle, desperation set in.
CPP attempted a few more shots before time ran out, but it remained clear that the missed opportunities at the beginning of the second half would cost the Broncos the game.
The Broncos finished the weekend by beating Cal State Los Angeles thanks to a two goal performance from senior forward Sergi Monso as part of a 2-1 win.
Monso scored what proved to be the winner in the 52nd minute, his ninth of the season.
Junior midfielder Jimmy Villalobos assisted both of Monso’s goals taking his assist total for the year to three.
Monso opened the scoring in the 14th minute only for Cal State Los Angeles forward Julian Zamora to level the contest in the 26th minute.
The win moves CPP to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in CCAA play.
Even at this early point in the season, the Broncos have been impressive at Kellogg Field winning four of five.
CPP finishes up a four game homestand this weekend against Cal State East Bay and Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday and Sunday.
Courtesy of CPP SPORTS INFORMATION
Men’s soccer split the first two games of the CCAA schedule
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