By Jacob Rodriguez, Oct. 8, 2024
Cal Poly Pomona’s women’s soccer team extended its winning streak to 7-0 with a 2-0 win over Cal State San Bernardino, and the men’s soccer team split the final two non-conference games this season against Concordia Irvine and Cal State San Bernardino.
The No. 3 ranked women’s soccer team concluded its non-conference season with a 2-0 victory over CSUSB Sept. 28, building on the program’s best season start by improving to 7-0 overall.
Both teams remained scoreless for the first 29 minutes of the game. The Broncos’ defense held the Coyotes to one shot throughout the span to CPP’s six, outshooting CSUSB 23 to three overall.
Forward Alexis Macias opened the scoring at 30:50 off a deflection from Coyote’s goalkeeper Leila Peregrina with a right-footed strike, collecting her third goal of the season.
“At first, I thought it wasn’t a goal,” said Macias. “I thought the referee had called it offsides. I turned around and saw everybody was celebrating. It took me back to last year. I also scored against this team when we won the conference, and it was really exciting, and some weight was off our shoulders.”
The Broncos continued to press forward while maintaining possession of the ball and midfield throughout the first half.
CPP broke through the Coyotes’ defense again at 53:28 when forward Vanessa Cruz scored, giving the Broncos a 2-0 lead and marking her fourth goal of the season.
Head Coach Jay Mason attributed the win to his team’s effort on both sides of the ball.
CPP pressed on defense and maintained possession of the ball to create mismatches while attacking the back line of the Coyote’s defense.
“I told the girls before the game, ‘You know we can set the bar right now and send a message to everybody in the conference that they better bring their best or we’re going to roll over you,’” Mason said.
The No. 7 ranked CPP men’s soccer team capped off a four-game home stretch against Concordia Irvine Golden Eagles in the first match of the weekend at Kellogg Stadium with a 6-1 victory.
The Broncos haven’t surrendered a goal since Sept. 7, credited to the reigning California Collegiate Athletics Defensive Player of the Week goalkeeper Luke Garciduenas.
CPP recorded two shots early on by forward Sam Lena that CUI’s goalkeeper saved, and midfielder Mauro Rafael missed wide to the left.
“We played very well,” said head coach Matt O’Sullivan. “We missed some chances in the beginning, but we stayed calm and found a way. The first score was the hardest one out of all of them, and we had easier ones, but once we started rolling, I felt like we were growing like a machine at that point.”
Forward Mads Frederiksen delivered a right-footed pass on the ground to lead Lena into the penalty area on the left side. Lena punted a left-footed cross toward midfielder Woody Angell, giving him the go-ahead to hammer home a right-footed attack into the goal at 29:51.
Frederiksen and Lena earned their first assists of the season, and Angell collected his ninth career goal and a team-best fourth goal of the season.
Midfielder Mike Moser also scored off a free kick at 43:15 to increase the lead to 2-0 before the end of the first half.
“I waited a long time to finally score a free kick again,” said Moser. “A lot of weight came off my shoulders once it went in, and after that, I was more calm and lighter on the ball.”
The Broncos continued the momentum into the second half, collecting 11 shots to the Golden Eagles three.
Midfielder Max Laguna scored the third goal off a penalty kick at 49:37 in the second half, giving the Broncos a 3-0 lead. Moser unleashed a left-footed strike, hitting the far side of the net in the 61st minute and capitalizing on the Broncos’ shutout streak.
CUI scored late in the 79th minute off a converted penalty kick by graduate student Rafael Espinoza, his first of the season. But the Broncos remained unfazed, answering with two more goals to cap off the 6-1 victory.
CPP registered season-high shot attempts for the fourth consecutive contest, reaching the 20-shot mark for the first time this season.
“I think it’s nice knowing that we can score six goals while coming off of previous games where we’ve shutout our opponents,” said Angell. “It gives us a lot of confidence going into the next game.”
CPP traveled to San Bernardino to take on CSUSB in the second and last non-conference matchup of the weekend.
Each team attempted a shot over the first 10 minutes, and Frederiksen high over the top right corner, sailing the ball past the post at 7:24.
CPP pressed forward with an offensive attack to find holes in the Coyotes’ defense, creating opportunities to strike, but ultimately fell short and struggled to find the net in the first 20 minutes.
The Broncos trailed for only the second time this season to an early 1-0 lead by the Coyotes. Angell responded with a goal off an assist by Frederiksen to tie it 1-1 at 23:46, matching his single season best from last fall and earning a spot on the CCAA leaderboard for goals this season.
CPP collected 15 shots to CSUSB’s eight, as the Broncos’ defense snuffed out any momentum the Coyotes’ offense tried to gain.
The Broncos took the first corner kick of the game for either team in the 62nd minute, initiating a hectic sequence over the next 67 seconds.
CPP earned two additional corner kicks and a pair of blocked shots from Angell and Frederiksen gave defender Fin Jackson the go-ahead goal into the bottom left of the net for a 3-2 advantage at 62:47.
With the victory in reach for the Broncos, Coyotes’ forward Brian Castillo tied the game with under a minute left, snapping the Bronco’s four-game winning streak with a 2-2 draw.
Photos courtesy of Megan Sanders