SAN MARCOS, Calif. - The No. 18 Cal Poly Pomona men's soccer team struck early and added two goals late to clinch all three points in a 3-0 romp over host Cal State San Marcos in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) action on Sunday afternoon at The Cage.

A third straight win moves CPP to 8-1-2 overall, 3-0-1 in the CCAA and 3-1-1 on the road in 2024. The Broncos are an unbeaten 7-0-2 over their last nine matches. They had undefeated stretches last season of 10 (7-0-3) to open the year and nine (7-0-2) leading into their finale. CSUSM drops to 4-3-4 overall and a still-winless 0-3-1 in league play.

The day began with CPP in a three-way tie atop the CCAA table, but with Cal State San Bernardino's 2-0 setback earlier Sunday at Cal State East Bay, the Broncos are now in sole possession of first place, pending No. 2 Cal State LA's 5 p.m. kickoff in Arcata versus Cal Poly Humboldt.

Fifth-year senior playmaker Max Laguna opened the scoring from the penalty spot at 12:22 after a Cougar foul in the 18-yard box, giving him three goals in as many matches, five on the year, and 12 total in the Green and Gold. Back-to-back game-winners this weekend after his exquisite strike with just two seconds left Friday in Hayward mean the Anaheim product has two deciders in 2024 and four for his career.

Much of the remaining drama was ended at 76:56 when true freshman midfielder Daniel Gutierrez notched his first collegiate goal into the bottom right with Laguna providing his team-leading fourth assist (12th career). With a goal and an assist two games in a row, Laguna takes over the Bronco lead in total points at a career-high 14.

Less than six minutes later, it was 3-0. Senior midfielder Marc Birkelund, a transfer from Flagler College, registered his first goal as a Bronco while assists went to Sam Lena and fellow senior transfer Ethan Benham. It marked Benham's first point for CPP.

Fourth-year junior goalkeeper Luke Garciduenas collected a career-high six saves and advanced his single-season career best in clean sheets now to six. The Pomona product has 11 shutouts for his college days. Garciduenas' saves haul included three in a span of just 61 seconds while the score was still 1-0. True junior Tony Flores, who has played every minute this season between the Cougar pipes, had three stops.

Up Next
Cal Poly Pomona concludes this season-long three-game road stretch at CCAA, area and archrival Cal State LA (7-0-2, 2-0-1 CCAA), currently ranked No. 2 in the country. The primetime kickoff this Thursday night, Oct. 17, is slated for 7 p.m. at University Stadium on the Golden Eagles' campus. The contest rounds out another doubleheader with the second-ranked Bronco women, who play at 4:30 p.m. Both matches will feature a live video stream through FloSports.

Bronco Bits

• CPP is 59-16-20 (.726) 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.
• Center back Marcus Jorgensen was absent for a fifth game in a row, while fellow junior Jakob Singh and Rocco Bon drew their first starts of the season.
• With Woody Angell and Mads Frederiksen both coming off the bench for the first time in 2024, Luke Garciduenas, Daniel Gutierrez, Fin Jackson and Max Laguna are the only Broncos left who have started all 11 matches.
• O'Sullivan has now used nine different starting lineups through the first 11 games.
• Bronco sixth-year senior tri-captain Mauro Rafael started all 16 games at CSUSM as a true freshman in 2019.
• Including postseason tiebreakers, Laguna is a perfect five-for-five from the penalty spot as a collegian, now at three-for-three in 2024.
• Garciduenas and tri-captain Jasper Winslow played the full 90 minutes.
• Out of 990 minutes played this season, the Broncos have trailed for 142:45.
• CPP leads this all-time series, 7-1-4, and remains an undefeated 7-0-4 in the last 11 meetings since a 2-1 road loss in these teams' first-ever matchup on Aug. 25, 2006.
• The Broncos are 3-1-3 against the Cougars in San Marcos, and 3-0-2 under O'Sullivan (2-0-1 on the road).
• CPP is 74-23-18 as a nationally-ranked program since 2002, including 36-10-17 under O'Sullivan and 8-1-2 in 2024.
• The Broncos and Cougars were picked second and seventh, respectively, in the CCAA preseason poll, with CPP earning one of 12 first-place votes.
• CPP and CSUSM are fourth and eighth in this week's United Soccer Coaches West Region poll.