Salazar Continues Hot Start With Brace as Cal Poly Pomona Women's Soccer Blanks Biola, 2-0
POMONA, Calif. - True junior midfielder Marisa Salazar has three goals through two games as the Cal Poly Pomona women's soccer team continued a season-opening three-game non-conference home stand with a 2-0 win over Biola University on Saturday night at Kellogg Stadium.
The victory moved reigning California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) champion and preseason favorite CPP to 2-0. Biola, picked seventh in the 14-team Pacific West Conference (PacWest), was contesting its 2024 season opener.
Salazar hit the target once in each half after grabbing the lone score in Thursday's home triumph over Vanguard. She opened the scoring at 17:02 with assists going to both Vanessa Cruz and Auburn Burnett. The Long Beach native out of Los Alamitos High School doubled the Bronco advantage at the 54:47 mark. That marker was set up by veteran teammate Tara Oper. Following her first collegiate multiple-goal effort, Salazar now has eight career tallies, including four game-winners.
— Cal Poly Pomona Broncos (@cppbroncos) September 8, 2024
The assists were the ninth of Oper's college days, the fifth for Burnett in two seasons at CPP, and the first as a Bronco for junior newcomer Cruz. On the second score, junior defender Liberty Ortiz lifted a long ball toward the right edge of the penalty box that Oper corralled. Her right-sided cross deflected off a defender and went right to Salazar, who placed a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner from seven yards.
Fifth-year senior and second-year Bronco starting goalkeeper Bella Hara needed to make a single 52nd-minute save in posting her second clean sheet in as many matches to kick off her 2024 campaign. That's now nine shutouts for the Green and Gold and 12 for Hara's college career. Senior Autum Monty had six stops for the Eagles.
CPP outshot the visitors by a final margin of 15-6, including 8-1 for attempts on target. Salazar and junior newcomer Angelina Rivas were credited with five shots each to lead all players. A career-high-tying four of Salazar's were directed on frame.
Rivas and sophomore UC Riverside transfer Lavinia Vaipulu drew their first starts as Broncos after coming off the bench in Thursday night's opener. Sophomore defender Georgia Rink earned a first collegiate start. Burnett was on the pitch at the start after playing as a reserve Thursday. Junior Abria Smith made her first appearance of 2024.
Up Next
Cal Poly Pomona wraps up this first of two three-match home stands in 2024 with a formidable foe in No. 1 Point Loma (2-0). The Sea Lions are the defending NCAA Division II national champions, as well as the reigning West Region and PacWest victors and preseason PacWest favorites. Kickoff at Kellogg Stadium this Thursday, Sept. 12, is set for 4:30 p.m. All home games can be viewed live through FloSports.
Bronco Bits
- Cal Poly Pomona is 62-47-21 (.558) overall under ninth-year (eighth season) head coach Jay Mason.
- Bella Anderson and Bella Hara were the lone Broncos to play the full 90 minutes.
- CPP leads this all-time series, 3-0, via two prior home wins in 2007 (2-1) and 2021 (2-0).
- CPP earned six of the 12 first-place votes in the 2024 CCAA preseason poll.
- The Broncos are both beginning and ending this 2024 regular season with three-game home stands.
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