CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA

Bronco Sports News

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2004

Contact: Paul Helms

(909) 869-2812

 

2004 CPP Record: 5-9-1. CCAA Record: 3-6-1

 

Broncos To Continue CCAA Play This Week: Cal Poly Pomona’s men’s soccer team, coming off an impressive win against North Division leader San Francisco State, will head to La Jolla to face UC San Diego in a midweek contest before returning home to host Cal State L.A. this weekend. The Broncos will visit UC San Diego on Wednesday afternoon and then host the Golden Eagles on Saturday at 7 p.m. Saturday is also Youth Night at Kellogg Field and any youth players wearing their team uniforms will be admitted free. Cal Poly Pomona has won two of the last three matches and lost the third in overtime. The Broncos are 4-4 at home and 1-5-1 on the road so far in 2004. The Broncos are bidding for their first winning season since 1999.

 

Last Week: Cal Poly Pomona had mixed results in its two home games last week. The Broncos fell to Sonoma State, 2-1, in overtime on Friday and then beat San Francisco State by the same score on Sunday afternoon. Cal Poly Pomona dropped a heartbreaking decision to the Seawolves on Friday night in a well-played game at Kellogg Field. The Broncos sent the game into overtime with a late goal, only to see Sonoma State win it in the final minute of the first overtime period. Peter Wallace (Sr., San Martin, De Anza College) scored his second goal of the season with 2:02 left in regulation to send the game into overtime. Darren Ross (Jr., Northridge, El Camino Real HS) and Dawit Berhanu (Fr., Ontario, Montclair HS) were credited with the assists. Cal Poly Pomona goalkeeper Jeff Coombs (Jr., Palm Springs, Palm Springs HS) had two saves for the Broncos. Two days later, the Broncos once again went into overtime, but this time they came out on the positive side of a 2-1 decision, edging San Francisco State. Ben Van der Fluit (Fr., Calabasas, Calabasas HS) scored his first goal of the season 7:13 into overtime to win it for the Broncos. The goal was assisted by Andrew Pierce (Jr., Oswego N.Y., Oswego HS) and Joe DeVito (Sr., Walnut Creek, De La Salle HS). Matthew Barker (So., La Verne, Bonita HS) scored in the 29th minute to give the Broncos a 1-0 lead. Berhanu and Pierce were given assists on the goal. Cal Poly Pomona had a 14-9 advantage in shots.

 

Scouting the Opposition: Cal Poly Pomona is 4-13-2 all-time against UC San Diego. Earlier this season, the Tritons beat the Broncos 6-1, at Kellogg Field. Dustin Venegas (Fr., Lakewood, Los Alamitos HS in La Jolla. In 2003, the Broncos split the season series against the Tritons with both teams winning on their home field. Cal Poly Pomona is 11-13-2 all-time against Cal State L.A. Earlier this season, the Broncos lost to the Golden Eagles 2-0 in Los Angeles. In 2003, Cal Poly Pomona defeated Cal State L.A. 3-0 in Los Angeles.

 

Rankings: Cal Poly Pomona does not appear in NSCAA national rankings. Cal State Dominguez Hills is ranked 11th in the nation, but is the only California Collegiate Athletic Association team ranked nationally. UC San Diego received votes in the latest poll.

 

About The Coach: One of the most recognizable names in United States soccer history, Paul Caligiuri is in his third year as Cal Poly Pomona’s head coach. Caligiuri was elected to the United States Soccer Hall of Fame earlier this year and was formally inducted into the Hall of Fame on Monday. Caligiuri led the Broncos to a 7-9-2 record last season, including a 6-7-1 record in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. In his first season as head coach, he guided the Broncos to an 8-9-1 record, which was a huge improvement from the 3-15-1 mark in 2001. He has a 20-27-4 overall record with the Broncos. Caligiuri is a former member of the Los Angeles Galaxy and United States National Team member. One of the most memorable moments of his playing career came in 1990 when he scored the game-winning goal – known as the “Goal Heard Round The World” – against Trinidad & Tobago that qualified the U.S. for its first World Cup appearance in 40 years. Caligiuri made 110 game appearances for the United States National Team.

 

Look Who’s Back: Just about everybody, actually. Cal Poly Pomona has eight starters and 17 players in all returning from last year’s team. Leading the list of returners is Robert Cardenas (Sr., Chino, Mt. San Antonio College) who was an All-CCAA 2nd team selection last season for the second straight year. Cardenas was one of the Broncos’ leading scorers last year with 3 goals and 4 assists. Two other starters who are expected to lead the Broncos this year include Andrew Pierce (Jr., Oswego, N.Y., Oswego HS) and goalkeeper Tim Sisk (Jr., Diamond Bar, Diamond Bar HS). Pierce had 5 goals and 2 assists for the Broncos last season and was second on the team in scoring, while Sisk posted a record of 7-7 with a 1.86 GAA. He had two shutouts.

 

Look Who’s New: Cal Poly Pomona is extremely excited about its recruiting class and several newcomers are expected to make immediate impacts, including one who made a big splash in his Cal Poly Pomona debut. Matthew Barker (Fr., La Verne, Bonita HS) scored two goals in his first game for Cal Poly Pomona in a season-opening win against Bryant University and has a team-leading three goals for the season. Ben Van der Fluit (Fr., Calabasas, Calabasas HS), Peter Hazdovac (Fr., San Pedro, San Pedro HS), and Dustin Venegas (Fr., Lakewood, Lakewood HS) are all making immediate contributions to the Broncos this season. Hazdovac has scored one goal in the Broncos’ first 15 games, while Van der Fluit has a team-leading four assists so far this season and scored the game-winning goal against San Francisco State on Sunday. Venegas has scored two goals. Dawit Berhanu (Fr., Ontario, Montclair HS) and Aaron Borja (Fr., Upland, Upland HS) have also cracked the starting lineup in recent games. Berhanu scored the first goal of his Cal Poly Pomona career against Cal State Stanislaus on Oct. 8 and has two assists, one of which came Sunday against San Francisco State.

 

 

CAL POLY POMONA

Men’s Soccer

 

CPP Schedule & Results

 

8/26     vs. Bryant College                                W 4-2

8/28     at Western Washington                          L 1-3

8/30     at Seattle Pacific                                   L 0-1

9/1       at Seattle University                              L 1-3

9/10     vs. Concordia University                       W 1-0

9/14     at Cal State Dominguez Hills*               L 0-9

9/17     vs. Cal State Monterey Bay*                L 0-1

9/21     vs. Cal State San Bernardino*              W 2-1

9/25     vs. UC San Diego*                               L 1-6

9/29     vs. Cal State Bakersfield*                     L 0-2

10/3     at Cal State L.A.*                                L 0-2

10/8     at Cal State Stanislaus*                         T 2-2

10/10   at Chico State*                                     W 2-0

10/15   vs. Sonoma State*                                L 1-2

10/17   vs. San Francisco State*                       W 2-1

10/20   at UC San Diego*                                4:30 p.m.

10/23   vs. Cal State L.A.*                               7:00 p.m.

10/27   at Cal State Bakersfield*                      5:00 p.m.

10/30   vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills*             7:00 p.m.

11/5-7  CCAA Championships                         TBA               

 

*Denotes CCAA Game