By Aadi Mehta and Mia Gutierrez, September 16, 2025
The Cal Poly Pomona men’s soccer team fell 2-1 to Biola University at Kellogg Stadium Sept. 4 in the season opener.
Prior to Thursday’s game, the men’s team ranked No. 1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Preseason Coaches’ Poll with 112 points and four first-place votes. With the loss, the team was knocked out of the top 25 ranking for the NCAA Division II.
The game started with both teams having equal possession of the ball. Each team made at least 1 shot attempt by the 20th minute.
Both teams also committed fouls throughout the first half, with referees giving early yellow cards to CPP midfielder Daniel Hernandez and forward Jakob Singh in the 16th and 21st minutes.
“As a whole, Biola just worked well together,” said CPP forward Samuel Lena. “They were quite physical, with a lot of slide tackles. They were making sure that they were either getting the ball or the man, so I would say it was more so a group effort than just individuals.”
The game intensified when Biola’s forward Lamar Mckenzie Jr. scored in the 41st minute, bringing the score to 1-0. The Broncos tried to even out the score before halftime, but game officials called offsides before the clock wound down.
“We were way too direct in the first half,” said CPP head coach Matt O’Sullivan. “We don’t look for certain things, so we’re definitely missing in chemistry, and we need a lot of work. We can play down the sides, but I didn’t think we played through the middle at all.”
The second half of the game resembled the first, with both teams taking at least one shot at the goal but missing each chance. However, CPP dominated by notching 8 total shots, compared to only one by Biola. Between this and referees calling fouls, there were player substitutions across the board.
Fouls increased as the half went on, resulting in a red card against CPP defender Joseph Spencer in the 76th minute.
Just seconds after, the back-and-forth possession ended with a goal by Biola’s midfielder Brennan Furlan, giving Biola a 2-0 lead with just a little over 10 minutes remaining in the game.
“Biola was a good team,” said CPP midfielder Devin Jenkins. “They had a system, and they came in knowing what they wanted to do. Their men didn’t allow me to get the ball as much in the middle.”
Just two minutes after Furlan scored in the 78th minute, with a Biola victory on the brink, CPP forward Mads Frederiksen made an assist to Jenkins, giving the Broncos their first goal of the night while still trailing 2-1.
“It was an intense moment,” Jenkins said. “We were down, and I just knew that we needed to have a big moment. I was debating about taking a touch, and then something told me just to hit it, and luckily it went in.”
The rest of the game featured a few corner kicks and more fouls from both teams, with CPP unable to level the field before time ran out.
“I think we only kicked into gear once we went down to 10 men, because we were neck and neck,” Lena said. “When we went down to 10 men, we got back a goal and were pretty much dominating for the last 10 minutes.”
O’Sullivan said the Broncos’ path ahead will be a tough battle, but he is still hopeful the team can learn from the early loss going into future games.
“You’ve got to figure out ways of winning instead of ways of losing, and tonight, we found ways of losing,” O’Sullivan said.
The Broncos are set to face off next against the Roadrunners at the University of Denver Sept. 19 5 p.m. local time. This match could be CPP’s greatest challenge of the season yet with the Roadrunners belonging to a NCAA Division I Program, which ranks higher than CPP’s NCAA Division II.
Feature image courtesy of Mia Gutierrez