POMONA, Calif. - True junior midfielder Marisa Salazar's goal in the 64th minute was enough to give Cal Poly Pomona a 1-0 victory over Vanguard University in non-conference women's soccer action at Kellogg Stadium on Thursday night.

The match served as the 2024 season opener for both CPP (1-0) and Vanguard (0-1). The Lions, out of Costa Mesa, are brand-new members of the NCAA Division II and the Pacific West Conference (PacWest), having reclassified from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). They were picked ninth in the PacWest's preseason poll, while the reigning California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) regular-season champion Broncos are favored to repeat their success from last fall. Thursday marked the first matchup between the programs in nearly three decades.

After a scoreless hour-plus, the hosts broke the stalemate with a well-worked team goal at 63:15. True junior defender Giselle Samayoa stole it and lifted a 25-yard long ball down the right flank from just inside the Vanguard half that junior newcomer Angelina Rivas deftly flicked one-touch with the inside of her left foot onto Salazar's path. Salazar took four touches to enter the penalty area and expertly put a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner for the game's lone score.

— Cal Poly Pomona Broncos (@cppbroncos) September 6, 2024

For Salazar, it was a sixth collegiate goal and third of the game-winning variety. The Long Beach product finished with a game- and career-high seven shots, with a game-best three of them on target. As a team, CPP outshot Vanguard by a tally of 15-4, including 9-1 after halftime.

Rivas and Samayoa were both credited with assists on the decisive play. It was the second of Samayoa's college days, and Rivas' first point as a Bronco. The Huntington Beach native spent her first two years out of Mater Dei High School at Division II University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Ala.

Fifth-year senior Bella Hara, beginning her second season as the Broncos' starting goalkeeper after transferring over from area and Division II West Region rival Azusa Pacific, made three saves in notching her eighth shutout for CPP and 11th as a collegian. Fellow senior Jordin Holmquist-Wilder had four stops for Vanguard.

Hara was aided in the back by the veteran likes of Samayoa, Bella Anderson and Liberty Ortiz, all of whom played 68-plus minutes.

Cal Poly Pomona debuts came for junior transfers Vanessa Cruz and Chloe Green, both as starters. Junior Anna Schellpeper was a first-time starter as a Bronco. Rivas and Lavinia Vaipulu came off the bench to make their first appearances for the Green and Gold. True freshmen Kiarra D'Arcangelo, Lizzy Northcott and Sabine Ramos drew their collegiate debuts, also as reserves.

Up Next
Cal Poly Pomona continues this three-match home stand and its seven-game non-conference slate with the second of four consecutive PacWest foes, welcoming in Biola this Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Kellogg Stadium. All home contests can be watched live via FloSports.

Bronco Bits

• Cal Poly Pomona is 61-47-21 (.554) overall and 4-3-1 in openers under ninth-year (eighth season) head coach Jay Mason.
• Bella Hara was the lone Bronco to play the full 90 minutes as 24 student-athletes saw action for the home side.
• Thursday marked Hara's 20th start for the Green and Gold, having played every minute in net in 2023.
• CPP leads this all-time series, 3-0, via three home shutouts.
• The previous two meetings were in 1993 (13-0) and 1996 (1-0).
• CPP earned six of the 12 first-place votes in the 2024 CCAA preseason poll.
• Game time was moved back from 4:30 to 7 p.m. due to the ongoing heat wave in Southern California.
• The Broncos are both beginning and ending this 2024 regular season with three-game home stands.