By James Oliden, Oct. 12, 2021
The CPP men’s soccer team claimed its first CCAA win of the season, scoring a 3-1 victory over Stanislaus State on Oct. 8. The Broncos now stand at a 4-2-3 season record after their most recent match.
Tying 1-1 within the first 10 minutes of the game, Stanislaus State scored the first goal of the game, followed by the first goal for the Broncos by senior midfielder Eduardo Faria.
“It is really important as forwards to score every game and the first goal is usually
the hardest one,” said Faria. “I haven’t scored many goals this season; it was only my third goal this season, so it felt great.”
Although the Broncos led 2-1 by the end of the first half, Head Coach Matt O’Sullivan feels the team could have engaged in more strategic plays since the start of the match.
“I was upset at halftime because we came up 2-1 but it felt like they won the first half.
We didn’t do too well on the ball; however, in the second half we were incredible on and off the ball, especially on defense,” said O’Sullivan.
Throughout the second half of the match, the Broncos displayed an increase in offensive plays, outshooting Stanislaus State 8-2. This resulted in a game-sealing goal by sophomore forward Paul Henschke three minutes before the final whistle.
According to Garrett Jensen, senior defender, the team’s added intensity played a
significant role in its success.
“In those moments that’s where you’ve got to be a big boy and man up,” said Jensen. “That’s what makes it fun when you’re competing, especially when you’re in your home stadium.”
O’Sullivan holds high expectations for the team as they progress further in the CCAA conference rankings.
“I think we’re a very good team that could do really well this year, but we’ve got to take it one game at a time,” said O’Sullivan. “We haven’t been terrible. We’re playing good soccer and doing the right things and we should’ve won more games, but our standards are so high we haven’t been on the level we want to be at, but tonight we were.”
The Broncos will face off against CSU San Bernardino for their fifth CCAA conference game of the season on Oct. 14. To stream upcoming CPP men’s soccer games, visit the CPP Athletics website.
Featured image courtesy of Darren Loo.