Men’s soccer crumbles to Cal State LA in second half
By Freddy Sanchez, September 29, 2026
Cal Poly Pomona men’s soccer team came up empty on the road 3-0 against nationally ranked No. 1 Cal State Los Angeles Sept. 18.
Friday’s game marked the beginning of conference play for the Broncos in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
CPP attempted four shots in the first half and played great defense in crucial moments, recovering well on counterattacks from CSULA. But, CPP had an underperforming second half that led to conceding two goals in a span of five minutes and dropping the game.
Broncos’ goalkeeper Jack Chapman captured the spotlight in the first half as he saved two shots within two minutes of each other in the 11th minute. During the first half, Chapman saved four shots and shut down frequent attacks from CSULA.
CPP’s defense displayed great recovering abilities in the first half by shutting down multiple counterattacking opportunities coming from CSULA. Along with the communication from Chapman, the CPP defense was able to get to their spots and make key plays. Broncos head coach Matt O’Sullivan mentioned promising signs from his unit.
“When we thought fast, we actually went right through them,” O’Sullivan said.
The offense remained active with multiple shot opportunities and key moments from the Broncos forwards. CPP forward Nico Sanchez had two shot attempts in 10-seconds at the 31st minute but was denied twice. Sanchez led the way for the Broncos with three shots and two shots on goal. Sanchez played extremely aggressive and fast pace, pushing the defense back and forcing CSULA on the back foot for the rest of the first half. This was emphasized by O’Sullivan, mentioning their quick-thinking mentality being effective.
Once the second half commenced, the pace of play drastically elevated. CSULA and CPP created turnovers and attempted to take advantage with counterattacks.
Defender Victor Casillas had a shot denied by the CSULA goalkeeper in the 49th minute. CSULA got a shot off immediately after the 50th minute by forward Jose Lopez. The game went from a composed, control-orientated pace of play to an incredibly urgent and aggressive game.
CPP began to struggle with CSULA’s pace of play and relentless pressure, according to O’Sullivan.
“We got to play quicker and we got to see things coming a little bit faster,” O’Sullivan said. “They’re still getting used to what we want them to do…they’re thinking too much, instead of being in more of a flow state.”
CSULA intercepted passes and kept pressure on the Broncos’ defense. The Golden Eagles struck first during the second half in the 50th minute with a quick tap-in shot from Lopez, assisted by defender Emil Kischka, and forward Angel Sandres.
The CSULA attack did not slow down as Jose Lopez scored again within five minutes inside the box following maneuvering around defenders and putting the Golden Eagles up 2-0.
During the final 15 minutes of the game, the Broncos’ desperation grew evident when they ramped up the urgency and motioned two of their defensive backs towards the midfield, leaving two center backs behind in case of any counterattacks.
The Broncos attempted a lot of crosses and passes in the box during the final 15 minutes of the game. Sanchez got a shot off in the 76th minute, but it was denied by Golden Eagles goalkeeper Abraham Ramirez.
Although this allowed some optimism with some offensive opportunities, CSULA closed the door on the game after scoring their third and final goal in the 83rd minute.
O’Sullivan recapped the game by explaining CPP’s lack of tactical adjustments.
“Yeah, they were (men) when we were boys,” O’Sullivan said. “Just the competitive level inside of both boxes…we’re not competing enough, you know, not organizing…there’s no tactics that will get you out of that part.”
