By Daniel Tapia, Oct. 11, 2022
On Oct. 6, The Cal Poly Pomona men’s soccer team visited conference rival Cal State San Bernardino, ultimately ending the game in a 1-1 tie and moving the Broncos’ conference record to 3-0-2.
In a physical matchup in sweltering heat, head coach Matt O’Sullivan mentioned wrapping up the team’s three game road trip on a slightly sour note.
“It has been a hard road trip with the tiring bus rides, and then having to come here against a hard opponent in 92-degree heat is difficult,” said O’Sullivan. “You got to be professional and grind through these times. I feel like we didn’t put all on the field, and San Bernardino probably deserved to win that game.”
The game started with the Broncos maintaining possession and putting pressure on the Yotes’ side of the pitch, a familiar play style for CPP’s men’s soccer. Multiple through balls were sent by Bronco defenders and midfielders within the first nine minutes of the match, but the offensive front failed to get a clean shot off.
CPP’s first real scoring threat occurred at the 10-minute mark, when midfielder Mike Moser lobbed a beautiful pass over the defender’s head into the box for forward Jerry Ramirez. Ramirez botched the ball, giving the keeper an easy stop despite being the last line of the Yotes’ defense.
After Moser sent another shot over the crossbar in the 12th minute, the Broncos would have another scoring chance minutes later.
In the 15th minute, midfielder Woody Angell received the ball just outside the box. Looking poised to score, Angell took a few more dribbles before taking his shot right outside the box.
Angell’s shot was deflected, prompting forward Christian Miramontes to convert the rebound past the keepers’ reach, making it 1-0 Broncos.
“It was a good play by our right winger, Mads, to get the ball inside to Woody,” said Miramontes. “Woody took a shot, and it just fell kindly to me after a deflection. All I had to do was put it in.”
Stingy defense from both teams prevented either side from another goal. Containing every attack in front of them, each side finished the half with only two shots and zero corner kicks each, yet
Out of the halftime break, the Yotes fought back, placing continuous pressure on the Broncos’ defense.
“At 1-0, We didn’t do a good enough job stopping them,” said O’Sullivan. “We played them multiple times before, and with a fantastic coach, we knew they were going to be very resilient.”
Five minutes into the second half, the Yotes quickly found their opportunity to even up the score. CSU San Bernardino forward Paul Iniguez’s shot deflected off a defender to evade the keeper and bring the score to 1-1.
The Broncos threatened back in the 64th minute when they capitalized off a bad pass from the Yotes defense. Midfielder Max Laguna made his run down the right side of the field attempting a cross into the box but instead was deflected for a corner kick.
The subsequent corner produced a dangerous ball into the box that a Yotes defender was able to head out of bounds for another corner kick. Nothing transpired with the preceding set piece, stalling the Bronco effort.
Seconds later, the Yotes found themselves down the right side of the pitch in a one-on-one situation against a Bronco defender. Yotes forward Nicklaus Sullivan found a small opening to shoot, but goalkeeper Luke Garciduenas made a tremendous save, keeping the game tied.
In a stagnated offensive struggle, defender Jasper Winslow mentioned the importance of defensive communication and effort in his 90 minutes of action.
“We were going to need to rotate guys in this weather, so it was important to communicate with the guys that came in and out to do less running than we had to,” said Winslow. “We couldn’t get the ball on their half as much. They were the ones with more urgency, and although it usually wasn’t pretty, they were still able to get the ball around the box to take shots.”
The 86th minute marked CPP’s last chance to break the deadlock. Defender Thomas Guei made his run down the left side of the pitch, attempting a shot that would be saved by the Yotes keeper.
With the numerous opportunities both teams had, neither were able to take the lead or secure the win. In total, the Broncos were kept to five shots in the game to the Yotes’ 10, with both teams putting two on goal.
The Broncos will look to get back in the win column in their next matchup at home against San Francisco State on Friday, Oct. 14. This match can be livestreamed via the California Collegiate Athletic Association Network and BroncoAthletics websites.
Feature image courtesy of CPP Athletics