No. 17 Cal Poly Pomona and No. 2 Cal State LA Split the Spoils to Remain in Two-Way Tie Atop CCAA Standings
LOS ANGELES - The 17th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona men's soccer team scored early and No. 2 Cal State LA tallied late as the two West Region powerhouses played to a 1-1 draw in a critical California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) rivalry clash at University Stadium on Thursday night.
With the result, CPP moves to 8-1-3 overall, 3-0-2 in the CCAA and 3-1-2 on the road. The Broncos remain an unbeaten 7-0-3 over their last 10 games, matching their longest undefeated stretch from a season ago, also exactly at 7-0-3, to begin that campaign.
The reigning CCAA regular-season and tournament champion Golden Eagles are now 8-0-3 overall, 3-0-2 in league play, and a no-longer-perfect-but-still-unbeaten 5-0-1 at home.
Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State LA thus both entered and departed the primetime tilt in a two-way tie atop the CCAA table, each with three-game win streaks snapped Thursday.
Senior Max Laguna opened the scoring early from the penalty spot for the second successive game, this time at 17:12. The Anaheim native has taken all four penalty-kick opportunities for CPP this season, and converted them all. He has now scored in a career-best four straight matches, and joins junior midfield mate Woody Angell atop the team's goal chart at six apiece. Laguna continues to also extend his lead in total points, now up to a career-high 16. His career goals haul stands at 13.
The tally meant CPP's first lead over Cal State LA since an even earlier Paul Roger Henschke strike at the same venue back on Nov. 4, 2021.
Cal State LA netted its equalizer, however, at 77:46, from the head of senior midfielder Carson Nguyen off of junior forward Oscar Warne's cross. It was Nguyen's first goal on the year and Warne's first assist.
Fourth-year junior goalkeeper Luke Garciduenas produced a pair of second-half saves. Redshirt freshman Diego Bravo had three stops for the hosts. Cal State LA held the narrowest of shot advantages at the end of the night, 8-7, with each team generating five corner kicks.
Coming off of the bench for a second game in a row, Angell was held without a shot for the first time, falling to second place in the CCAA with 40 attempts on the year. The product of Alton, England, had registered multiple shots in each of CPP's first 11 contests.
Up Next
With this season-long three-game road string behind them, the Broncos now briefly return home to Kellogg Stadium this Sunday afternoon, Oct. 20. Kickoff against another fierce area rival in Cal State Dominguez Hills is slated for 2 p.m., after the second-ranked CPP women take on the Toros at 11:30 a.m. All men's and women's soccer home matches have live streaming video through FloSports.
Bronco Bits
- CPP is 59-16-21 (.724) 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.
- Marcus Jorgensen returned to his starting role on the back line following a five-game absence, but managed just over 28 minutes on the pitch, while fellow junior Jakob Singh started his second straight.
- With senior tri-captain Fin Jackson missing his first match of 2024, Luke Garciduenas, Daniel Gutierrez and Max Laguna are now the only Broncos who have started all 11 matches.
- O'Sullivan has now used 10 different starting lineups through the first 12 games.
- Garciduenas, Gutierrez, Liam McFarlane and tri-captain Jasper Winslow played the full 90 minutes.
- Out of 1,080 minutes played this season, the Broncos have trailed for just 142:45.
- Including postseason tiebreakers, Laguna is a perfect six-for-six from the penalty spot as a collegian.
- Cal State LA leads the all-time series, 37-22-9, now an undefeated 7-0-2 over the past nine meetings since a 1-0 Bronco non-conference decision at home on Sept. 25, 2021.
- The Broncos are 8-20-2 versus the Golden Eagles in Los Angeles, and 1-8-3 under O'Sullivan (0-4-1 on the road).
- CPP is 74-23-19 as a nationally-ranked program since 2002, including 36-10-18 under O'Sullivan and 8-1-3 in 2024.
- The Broncos are 26-38-14 against nationally-ranked opponents, also since 2002, and 9-12-7 with O'Sullivan in charge.
- CPP is 4-10-6 in that stretch against top-five foes (1-4-4 with O'Sullivan).
- The Golden Eagles (nine first-place votes) and Broncos (one) were picked first and second, respectively, in the CCAA preseason poll.
- Cal State LA and CPP are first and fourth in this week's United Soccer Coaches West Region poll.
Latest Men's Soccer
- O’Sullivan Named CCAA Coach of the Year, Nine Broncos Receive All-CCAA HonorsNine different Cal Poly Pomona men's soccer student-athletes received all-conference recognition on Wednesday night, in addition to head coach Matt O'Sullivan being named CCAA Coach of the Year for the first time in his career. The team's nine selections ties a program-high, and was the most in the conference.
- No. 23 CPP Earns First CCAA Regular-Season Crown of O'Sullivan Era with 2-0 Shutout of CSUSBPOMONA, Calif. - The No. 23 Cal Poly Pomona men's soccer team produced a pair of first-half goals through senior leaders and dispatched Cal State San Bernardino, 2-0, inside Kellogg Stadium on Thursday afternoon to earn a share of the 2024 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) regular-season championship.
- Broncos Ranked No. 5 in NCAA Division II Super-Region 4The Cal Poly Pomona men's soccer team was ranked No. 5 in the NCAA Division II Super-Region 4 on Wednesday, it was announced on NCAA.com.
- Mads Frederiksen Named CCAA Offensive Player of the WeekCal Poly Pomona's Mads Frederiksen is the FloCollege/CCAA Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week, for the week of Oct. 28-Nov. 3.
- CPP Overwhelms Sonoma State on Senior Day to Clinch Tenth Straight CCAA Tournament BerthPOMONA, Calif. - The Cal Poly Pomona men's soccer team scored before the first minute was up and never looked back in beating Sonoma State University, 5-1, in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) action on Senior Day Sunday at Kellogg Stadium.
- First Men's Soccer Cal Poly Clash Goes to Broncos, 3-0POMONA, 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.