POMONA, Calif. - Cal Poly Pomona produced a pair of unassisted first-half goals and downed Cal Poly Humboldt, 3-0, in a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) men's soccer contest inside Kellogg Stadium on Friday night.

The match served as the first men's soccer installment of the inaugural Cal Poly Clash: Battle of the Green & Gold, between the two California Polytechnic universities located at opposite ends of the state. The creation of the new annual rivalry series was announced on Sept. 30.

Friday's game also marked Bronco head coach Matt O'Sullivan's 100th at the helm on the Pomona campus, with his student-athletes giving the sixth-year leader his 60th win.

In snapping a string of four successive draws, CPP improves to 9-1-6 overall and a still-undefeated 4-0-5 in the CCAA and 6-0-2 at home in 2024. Their unbeaten streak extends to 14 matches at 8-0-6, continuing the program's longest single-season run since a 16-gamer (15-0-1) to open the 2014 campaign, Sept. 4-Oct. 24. Cal Poly Humboldt, now in 10th place, falls to 3-9-4 overall and 2-6-1 in league play.

The day began with Cal Poly Pomona tied for fourth with Cal State Monterey Bay at 14 points apiece, two back of the CCAA co-leaders in No. 3 Cal State LA and Cal State Dominguez Hills. Earlier Friday, the Golden Eagles got a late winner at San Francisco State, 2-1. In primetime, the Toros played to a scoreless stalemate at Cal State Monterey Bay and Chico State rescued a 1-1 draw at Cal State East Bay. As such, with two regular-season games left, CPP shares second place with CSUDH, still two points behind reigning champion Cal State LA.

The Golden Eagles become the first team to clinch one of six berths into the 2024 CCAA Tournament, with the Broncos virtually there again.

The NCAA's first official regional rankings were released on Wednesday through games played last Sunday, with Cal Poly Pomona among 12 teams from Super Region 4 included in the alphabetical initial installment. The all-important listing is used to determine the 10 NCAA Championship participants from Super Region 4. The next poll, in rank order, will be unveiled next Wednesday, Nov. 6.

Junior striker Mads Frederiksen, back in the lineup after serving out a one-game suspension last Sunday for a red card he was shown exactly one week prior in Chico, got the scoring started at 15:15, rounding the goalie on a breakaway and calmly slotting home for his third goal of the season and first game-winner after three such strikes to lead the team a year ago. It was the ninth score of his college days and fourth decider.

Senior midfielder Mike Moser doubled the advantage in the 29th minute, whipping in a right-footed direct free kick from 22 yards straight on for his fourth goal this year and ninth in three go-arounds as a Bronco.

The stout Cal Poly Pomona defense actually did not even allow a single shot attempt to the visitors over the first 45 minutes.

The clincher finally came at 79:03 as sixth-year senior tri-captain Mauro Rafael produced the first goal of his CPP career into the bottom left. It was set up by another veteran in Ethan Benham, who was making his first start as a Bronco after five years at NCAA Division I CSUN. The two points were Rafael's first across three seasons wearing the Green & Gold, with Benham nabbing his second assist of the campaign.

Fourth-year junior goalkeeper Luke Garciduenas got his hands to three second-half saves in earning his single-season career-best seventh clean sheet of 2024 and 12th as a collegian. Fifth-year senior Adrian Gallardo had five stops in the Humboldt net. CPP out-shot the 'Jacks, 21-7, reaching the 20-shot mark for the seventh time.

Up Next
Cal Poly Pomona continues this regular-season-ending three-game home stand this Sunday, Nov. 3, against Sonoma State. Kickoff on Senior Day at Kellogg Stadium will come after 2 p.m., following the fourth-ranked and first-place Bronco women taking on the Seawolves at 11:30 a.m., and nine outstanding men's soccer seniors being recognized. The senior ceremony is intended to begin about 20 minutes before kickoff. All CCAA soccer contests feature a live video feed through FloSports.

Bronco Bits

• CPP is 60-16-24 (.720) overall under sixth-year (fifth season) head coach Matt O'Sullivan, who on Sept. 22 took over the No. 1 position in the program record book for wins.
• With fifth-year senior Max Laguna sitting out his first match of 2024, true freshman Daniel Gutierrez is now the lone Bronco to start all 16 matches.
• O'Sullivan has used 13 different starting lineups through 16 games.
• Luke Garciduenas, Liam McFarlane, Joseph Spencer and tri-captain Jasper Winslow played the full 90 minutes.
• Out of 1,440 minutes played this season, the Broncos have trailed for just 195:27.
• This is the fourth straight year that CPP has produced an unbeaten streak of double-digit games.
• Mauro Rafael's goal was the second of his college career, the other coming way back on Sept. 27, 2019, as a true freshman for Cal State San Marcos in a 3-3 draw at Cal State Monterey Bay.
• The other two times this season that the Broncos held an opponent without a shot over a full period was in the first half of a 2-0 home win over Azusa Pacific on Sept. 14, and the second half of a 1-1 home draw with SF State on Oct. 4.
• CPP has dominated this series at 17-3 with 12 consecutive victories (aggregate score of 34-5), including 9-1 in Pomona (nine straight wins by an aggregate score of 31-4 since a 6-2 loss in the initial meeting there on Sept. 8, 1996).
• The Broncos are 5-0 against the 'Jacks under O'Sullivan (3-0 in Pomona).
• The Broncos and Lumberjacks were picked second and 10th, respectively, in the CCAA preseason poll, with CPP garnering one first-place vote.
• For the first time this season, CPP is not nationally ranked, but is receiving votes outside of the United Soccer Coaches top 25, while down one spot from fourth to fifth in the organization's West Region poll.