POMONA, 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.

The victory clinches postseason soccer for Cal Poly Pomona for a 10th consecutive season as Matt O'Sullivan's men have punched their ticket to the six-team 2024 CCAA Tournament. Reigning CCAA regular-season and tournament double champion Cal State LA on Friday night had become the first club to book its spot. It will be an 11th CCAA tourney trip for CPP. Cal State Dominguez Hills, Chico State and Cal State Monterey Bay are all also now in the field. One opening remains.

With the win, CPP improves to 10-1-6 overall and a still-undefeated 5-0-5 in the CCAA and 7-0-2 at home. Their unbeaten streak has reached 15 matches at 9-0-6, extending the program's longest single-season run since a 16-gamer (15-0-1) to open the 2014 campaign, Sept. 4-Oct. 24. Ninth-place Sonoma State, coming off of back-to-back 2-0 triumphs, drops to 5-7-5 overall and 3-6-1 in league play.

Sunday's results mean all is still to be played for on the regular season's final day this Thursday, Nov. 7. Cal Poly Pomona entered the day tied for second in the CCAA table with Cal State Dominguez Hills, both two points behind No. 3 Cal State LA. The Toros won 3-1 earlier in San Francisco, but the Golden Eagles were held 1-1 at Cal State Monterey Bay by a late penalty. Fourth-place Chico State also drew 1-1 on the road in San Marcos. CPP, Cal State LA and CSUDH thus share the top rung at 20 points apiece. The top two positions get a first-round bye in the CCAA tourney on Nov. 10.

Ten outstanding Cal Poly Pomona senior student-athletes were recognized prior to the start, in Christian Bru, starting goalkeeper Luke Garciduenas, Max Laguna, Mike Moser and Eric Pearce, newcomers Ethan Benham and Marc Birkelund, and tri-captains Fin Jackson, Mauro Rafael and Jasper Winslow. All 10 saw action in the match.

The Broncos had the upper hand a mere 57 seconds into this one, as junior striker Mads Frederiksen sent the very first shot of the contest low to the left off an assist from Moser. It was Frederiksen's fourth of the season and 10th of his career. He had also opened the scoring in a 3-0 home victory over Cal Poly Humboldt on Friday night, that one in the 16th minute. The Denmark native has actually tallied the first goal for his third straight game played around missing the Oct. 27 win at Stanislaus State due to a red-card suspension. Moser picked up his first helper of the season and milestone 10th of his CPP career.

The score took over as Cal Poly Pomona's earliest this campaign, eclipsing junior midfielder Woody Angell's from the 3:21 mark in a 3-0 home defeat of Colorado School of Mines back on Sept. 22.

Sonoma State nearly equalized with its first attempt of the afternoon in the fifth minute, but freshman midfielder Alejandro Verdugo was denied with the Bronco defense gaining credit for a team save.

Early in the second half, the Broncos generated three shots on target within a span of 3:14, but redshirt sophomore Jack Chapman, named Tuesday as the CCAA Defensive Player of the Week, saved them all.

The hosts effectively clinched the full three points a little over 10 minutes later in the 66th. Just more than four minutes after reentering the game, sophomore forward Rocco Bon found the back of the net for his second collegiate goal, the other coming in this season's opener on Sept. 5 at Biola. Laguna had the assist. Sonoma State's late tally made Bon's his first collegiate game-winner.

At 70:30, it was 3-0 through true junior striker Jakob Singh's fourth on the year and his 10th career goal as well. True freshman Aleksandar Somov picked up his first collegiate assist. Eight minutes later at 78:37, Somov produced his third goal on the year to give him a single-game career-best three points. Laguna was again the provider, giving the Anaheim native team bests of six assists and 20 total points in 2024. His first two-assist effort increases his output in the Green & Gold to 14.

The sides then traded late penalty-kick conversions, first by SSU sophomore forward Tiernan Nicewander for his first collegiate goal at 84:57 to wreck the clean sheet.

At 88:39 on Senior Day, Benham was awarded CPP's opportunity and tucked his shot away for the final margin. For the transfer who spent the previous five years at CSUN but did not play last fall, it was a long time coming for a first college goal.

Garciduenas registered one save. Chapman collected four stops for the visitors before giving way to junior Jack Parker for the final 16 minutes.

The Broncos have reached the 10-win mark in a remarkable 10 successive campaigns, including all five with O'Sullivan in charge.

Up Next
Cal Poly Pomona wraps up both the 2024 regular season and this three-match home stand this Thursday afternoon, Nov. 7, welcoming area rival Cal State San Bernardino into Kellogg Stadium for a 2 p.m. kickoff. The game will cap one final CPP soccer doubleheader, with the fourth-ranked, back-to-back conference regular-season champion Bronco women taking on the Yotes at 11:30 a.m. All CCAA soccer contests feature a live video feed through FloSports.

Bronco Bits

• CPP is 61-16-24 (.723) 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.
• True freshman Daniel Gutierrez remains the only Bronco to start all 17 matches.
• Max Laguna, who had started each of the first 15 games, came off the bench after missing his first game on Friday night.
• Fellow senior midfielder Mike Moser earned his third start of 2024 and first since the initial two contests on Sept. 5 and Sept. 7.
• O'Sullivan has now used 14 different starting lineups through 17 games.
• Fin Jackson, Luke Garciduenas, Liam McFarlane and Joseph Spencer played the full 90 minutes.
• Out of 1,530 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.
• The Broncos have struck first, all over the first 16 minutes, in four straight matches.
• CPP leads the all-time series, 18-12-3, including an unbeaten run of 7-0-2 over the past nine matchups since a 2-1 road defeat on Sept. 16, 2016, and 9-5-1 in Pomona (6-0-1 over the last seven since a 3-1 loss on Sept. 18, 2009).
• The Broncos are 4-0-2 against the Seawolves under O'Sullivan (2-0-1 at home).
• The Broncos and Seawolves were picked second and eighth, 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.
• In Wednesday's first unveiling of the official NCAA regional listings, CPP was among 12 teams under consideration for one of 10 NCAA Championship spots from Super Region 4 (second edition, in rank order, set for Nov. 6).