Broncos Stopped In Conference Finals

UC San Diego wins second straight CCAA title, 2-0

 

LA JOLLA  – Cal Poly Pomona’s women’s soccer team saw its school-record winning streak snapped by a familiar nemesis Sunday afternoon.

      Defending CCAA champion UC San Diego successfully retained its conference crown with a 2-0 victory over Cal Poly Pomona in the CCAA Championship Game at UC San Diego. The Broncos had their eight-game winning streak snapped by the Tritons, who also won a national championship last year in its first year in the CCAA.

      UC San Diego (17-2-0) won for the fifth time in six meetings with the Broncos over the past two seasons. The Tritons also beat the Broncos in last year’s conference tourney, 2-1 and the teams split a pair of 1-0 decisions earlier this season. UC San Diego won at Kellogg Field on Sept. 8 on a goal with one second left in the second overtime, while Cal Poly Pomona returned the favor Oct. 24 at UCSD on a goal by Lisa Araujo (Fr., Rialto, Eisenhower HS) 59 seconds into the first overtime.

      Cal Poly Pomona (15-3-2) was tied for first with the Tritons in the most recent Far West Region rankings and is expecting an NCAA playoff bid when the postseason field is announced Sunday night. Most likely, the Broncos will host Cal State Dominguez Hills in a first-round match Wednesday night with the winner facing UC San Diego next Saturday in the second round.

      “We didn’t play badly, I thought we played a pretty good game,” Cal Poly Pomona head coach Ryan Heise said. “We had some good chances to score and didn’t and they were very fortunate today, they got a couple good bounces.”

      The first fortunate bounce for the Tritons came after a corner kick by Julia Cuder. A group of players went up for the ball, but it bounced off the head of Cal Poly Pomona’s Kim Akman and inadvertently went into the net in the 30th minute.

      That goal was the first one scored in regulation by either team in the three meetings this season.

      UC San Diego got its second goal on a header by Erika Alfredson, who recorded her 15th goal of the season. Cal Poly Pomona goalie Katie Kreps (Jr., Diamond Bar, Diamond Bar HS) made the initial save after a header by UC San Diego’s Kristen Conahan. The ball deflected off the goal post and right to Alfredson, who was able to direct the ball into the net.

      The Broncos began to pressure the Tritons in the second half, but couldn’t convert. Araujo, who was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year by the CCAA coaches, headed a pass from Tara Chance (Jr., Alta Loma, Alta Loma HS), but it sailed just over the UC San Diego goal early in the second half. Lisa Hermen (Sr., Cerritos, Cypress JC) had a good scoring chance in the first half, but UC San Diego goalie Kami Poma made a good save and Jen Mercurio (Sr., Huntington Beach, Edison HS) had a solid chance through traffic that Poma made a diving stop to thwart the Broncos.

      The game was a matchup between two of the top defensive teams in the nation. UC San Diego has allowed only eight goals in 19 games, while the Broncos have allowed only 11 goals in 20 matches. Both teams have 11 shutouts. UC San Diego came into the tournament ranked sixth in the country, while Cal Poly Pomona was ranked seventh.

      Cal Poly Pomona had an 11-10 advantage in shots Sunday, although UC San Diego had a 7-3 edge in corner kicks, one of which it parlayed into the first goal of the game.

      “I don’t think we were 100 percent today. We made a few mistakes,” Kreps said. “They’re a quick team. We were there, we were trying, but we weren’t winning the battles like we needed to be.”

      Chance (Jr., Alta Loma, Alta Loma HS) said the Tritons made the most of their opportunities.

      “That’s what UC San Diego lives for, the corner kicks,” Chance said. “It went their way today.”

      The two goals allowed by the Broncos on Sunday marked just the second time all season a team has scored more than one goal in a game against Cal Poly Pomona.

      “It’s a great accomplishment for this team to get this far,” Heise said. “Fifteen-three-and-two in this region is a great record. We’re definitely one of the better teams in the country. The season starts now. This is where it all begins.”

     

SUMMARY: UC San Diego 2, Cal Poly Pomona 0

SCORING:                        29:59 UCSD (CPP own goal)                        unassisted

                        71:50 Erika Alfredson (UCSD)                        assist to Kristen Conahan

SHOTS ON GOAL:                        CPP 11, UCSD 10

CORNER KICKS:                        CPP 3, UCSD 7

FOULS:                        CPP 8, UCSD 10

SAVES:                        CPP 3 (Katie Kreps 3), UCSD 4 (Kami Poma 4)