By Daniel Tapia, Aug. 30, 2022
Fans from the Cal Poly Pomona community filled the stands to cheer on the CPP women’s soccer team as they hosted their first home game of the season against the Concordia Golden Eagles. The Broncos dropped their opener, suffering a 2-1 loss.
Expecting the team’s preparation to pay off, head coach Jay Mason was disappointed with the outcome of the match.
“We wanted to come in with high energy since part of our identity is being an aggressive team,” said Mason. “Today we didn’t communicate or compete well enough and lost a bit of composure on the ball.”
At the start of the match, CPP utilized an aggressive attack, creating its first three opportunities for forward Allyssa Larkin.
In the ninth minute, forward Jaclyn Cuevas delivered a through ball for Larkin down the right side of the pitch, giving her a shot at the goal. Larkin took the shot, deflecting it off the keeper for a corner.
The next two opportunities came in the 14th and 16th minute off a corner kick and crossed the ball into the box. While unable to capitalize through three attempts on goal, the team applied coach Mason’s attacking offensive strategy.
Despite Larkin’s preceding chances falling short, the 18th minute broke the early scoreless tie. Midfielder Jessica Llamas took credit for hammering home the first Bronco goal of the season. Llamas put herself in the perfect position to intercept the pass from Concordia’s goalkeeper and buried the shot into the bottom left corner of the net, giving the Broncos a 1-0 lead.
“Honestly, I kept hearing Coach and my teammates say ‘Press,’ and with the team establishing trust, I trusted them with the press,” said Llamas. “When I got the ball, I focused in on that one moment, took my shot and made it.”
Still, Concordia would not back down easily, as they responded with a goal of their own three minutes later.
Both teams had their fair share of scoring opportunities within the first 45 minutes. The Broncos won four corner kicks in the half, yet the score would remain deadlocked at 1-1 heading into halftime.
During the second half, both teams kept up their aggression with multiple offensive threats; however, the Golden Eagles would be the ones to break through by scoring in the 65th minute, giving them a 2-1 lead.
The Broncos found themselves trailing for the first time in the match, which led Larkin and fellow forward Tara Oper to pick up the intensity. The two coalesced on the left side of the pitch to create three of the four attempted shots in the second half.
Despite the Broncos’ continuous efforts to balance the score, the 2-1 result remained as the final whistle blew.
Larkin, one of the leaders of this team, shared her thoughts on the game and how to move forward.
“It definitely wasn’t our best performance, but our team has great potential—especially with the energy that the new players are bringing in,” said Larkin. “We need to take this as a learning experience, so that in our next game, we can bring the physicality and communication that we were lacking.”
With new and familiar faces, the women’s team looks to bounce back and improve with each passing match. Slated to finish in second place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association once more, the long season remains chock-full of opportunity to match or surpass their preseason prediction.
While a disappointing opening result on the field for women’s soccer, the raucous Bronco faithful in the stands will bring the same energy as the players in their next matches.
“It couldn’t have been a better atmosphere for our girls to play. We just didn’t quite show up today with the energy that we needed to find a W against a good Concordia side,” said coach Mason.
A chance to avenge the season’s opening loss will come quickly with women’s soccer having two chances for redemption next week. Their upcoming match against Point Loma on Sept. 1, can be livestreamed via the Broncos Athletic website and the CCAA Network.
Feature Image by Daniel Tapia.