CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA

Bronco Sports News

For Immediate Release

Thursday, Nov. 6, 2003

Contact: Paul Helms

(909) 869-2812

WOMEN’S SOCCER

MEDIA NOTES

2003 CPP Record: 10-7-1. CCAA Record: 8-6-0 (24 points)

Regional Ranking: 10 (NSCAA)

Broncos Earn Sixth Straight Trip To CCAA Tourney: Cal Poly Pomona’s women’s soccer team did what it had to do late in the season and qualified for the CCAA Championship Tournament for a sixth straight year. The Broncos finished the regular season with three straight victories, including two in the past five days that kept their season alive. Cal Poly Pomona crushed wildcard contender Cal State San Bernardino, 6-1, at Kellogg Field last Saturday and then rallied for a 2-1 win over recent nemesis UC San Diego Wednesday in La Jolla. A loss or tie by the Broncos on Wednesday would have meant the end of their season. Instead, the Broncos join North Division champion Sonoma State, Central Division champion Cal State Dominguez Hills and South Division champion UC San Diego in the four-team CCAA Championship Tournament beginning Friday at Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Broncos will face tourney host Cal State Dominguez Hills in a first-round game Friday at 1:30 p.m. The winner will advance to Sunday’s championship game at 11:30 a.m. against the winner of the Sonoma State/UC San Diego contest.

What’s At Stake: The Broncos will be shooting for their third CCAA title and first since 1999. Cal Poly Pomona is also, incredibly, playing for a spot in the NCAA Division II tournament. After being snubbed a year ago after losing in the first round of the CCAA Championship Tournament, the Broncos appear to have a shot at playing themselves into the playoffs this year. The top four teams in the region will advance to the NCAA Tournament. Cal Poly Pomona was ranked 10^th in the most recent regional rankings, but that was before the big win at No. 1 UC San Diego on Wednesday. Cal State San Bernardino was fourth, after the Broncos defeated them 6-1 on Saturday, but before the Coyotes lost to UC San Diego on Monday. Cal Poly Pomona potentially has two more matches against the top two teams in the region and it’s hard to imagine the NCAA committee snubbing the Broncos for a second straight year if they run the table and win the conference title. Sonoma State, whom the Broncos defeated earlier this season, are sixth in the region and could be a factor if the Seawolves win the tourney. UC San Diego, Cal State Dominguez Hills and Seattle Pacific appear to be solidly locked in the first three spots, leaving the fourth up for grabs. Of course, as several CCAA teams have found out in recent years, anything can happen when the pairings are announced. By the way, the pairings will be announced Monday at 2 p.m.

How We Got Here: Cal Poly Pomona, knowing it needed a win against UC San Diego on Wednesday in La Jolla to advance to the CCAA Championship Tournament, erased a 1-0 halftime deficit with second-half goals by Jamie Black (So., Torrance, West HS) and Chelsea Hipley (So., Sacramento, Woodcreek HS). Black knocked home a rebound of a shot by Bethany Inoshita (Fr., Ventura, Ventura HS) to tie the game in the 53^rd minute and Hipley scored the game-winner in the 58^th minute with an assist from Inoshita. Vanessa Richardson (So., Upland, Upland HS) made three saves for the Broncos, who managed only two shots in the first half. UC San Diego finished the game with a 10-9 advantage in shots. The win sent Cal Poly Pomona to the CCAA Championship Tournament and knocked out Cal State San Bernardino, which finished one point behind the Broncos in the CCAA South Division.

Tournament History: Cal Poly Pomona has qualified for the CCAA Championship Tournament for the sixth straight season. Cal State Dominguez Hills has also qualified for all six tourneys. In the five previous championship tournaments, Cal Poly Pomona has compiled a 4-4 overall record with one title and two second-place finishes. The Broncos were knocked out in the first round last year by UC Davis, 2-1, in overtime. Cal Poly Pomona has faced Cal State Dominguez Hills three times in previous CCAA Championship Tournaments and are 2-1 against the Toros. Cal State Dominguez Hills won in 1998, 1-0, in the championship game. In 1999, the Broncos beat the Toros, 1-0, in the title game and wound up advancing to the NCAA Division II championship game. Finally, in 2001, the Broncos beat the Toros in a first-round game, 2-0, at UC San Diego. Cal Poly Pomona is 13-23-5 all-time against Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Toros edged the Broncos, 1-0, in a regular-season game in Carson on Sept. 22. The Broncos have faced Sonoma State once in CCAA Championship Tournament play and prevailed, 1-0, in a first-round game in 1998. The Broncos are 5-11-1 all-time against Sonoma State and beat the Sea Wolves, 3-2, on Oct. 3 at Kellogg Field. Cal Poly Pomona is 0-2 against UC San Diego in two previous tournament contests. The Tritons won, 2-1, in overtime, in the 2000 tourney at Cal State Dominguez Hills in Ruth Van’t Land-Parkes’ final game at Cal Poly Pomona. In 2001, the Broncos fell to the Tritons, 1-0, in the championship game at UCSD. Cal Poly Pomona is 7-17-4 all-time against UC San Diego and split two meetings this season. The Broncos lost, 2-1, in overtime at Kellogg Field on Sept. 13 and then beat the Tritons, 2-1, on Wednesday in La Jolla, snapping a five-game winless streak against UC San Diego.

Rankings: Cal Poly Pomona has fallen out of the national Top-25. The Broncos opened the season ranked 14^th in the nation and climbed to 12^th after the victories over Fresno Pacific and Western Oregon. Cal Poly Pomona finished 25^th in the nation in 2002, its fourth straight finish in the national Top 25. The Broncos were second in 1999, 18^th in 2000, ninth in 2001 and 25^th last year. The Broncos finished in a tie for third in the final regional rankings last season, but lost out to San Francisco State for the third and final playoff spot. Cal Poly Pomona is 10^th in the latest regional rankings, but those rankings do not include the Broncos’ win at UC San Diego on Wednesday. UC San Diego is first, Cal State Dominguez Hills is second and Sonoma State is fifth heading into the CCAA Championship Tournament.

Taking A Chance: The Broncos are benefiting from the return of All-America defender Tara Chance (Sr., Alta Loma, Alta Loma HS). Chance was a third-team All-American in 2001, but suffered a season-ending knee injury in the fourth game of the 2002 season. In her first five games back with the Broncos, Cal Poly Pomona posted three shutouts and allowed only three goals. Chance earned third-team All-America honors in 2001 after spearheading a defense that set a new program record for fewest goals allowed (13). She also scored the game-winning goal in the Broncos’ season opener that year, against Azusa Pacific, in a 1-0 victory. This season, Chance was named the Brine CCAA Player of the Week for the week of Aug. 26 – Sept. 1 after leading the Broncos to shutout victories over Fresno Pacific and Western Oregon. Chance picked up her first assist of the season when she helped Lisa Araujo (Jr., Rialto, Eisenhower HS) score the Broncos’ only goal against Cal State Bakersfield on Sept. 28 and she scored her first goal of the season on Oct. 3 against Sonoma State. She added her second assist of the season on a goal by Karen Lawrence (Fr., Upland, Upland HS) against Chico State on Oct. 10.

Moving Up The Charts: Michelle McConnell (Sr., Alta Loma, Alta Loma HS) continues her fantastic Cal Poly Pomona career and made her final game at Kellogg Field one to remember. McConnell, who has led the Broncos in scoring the past two years, is leading Cal Poly Pomona again this season. She has eight goals and nine assists for 25 total points. She recorded her third career hat trick and added two assists to lead the Broncos to a 6-1 win over Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday. She was named the Brine CCAA Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 29 – Oct. 5 after leading the Broncos to wins over San Francisco State and Sonoma State. McConnell continues her climb up the Cal Poly Pomona career lists. The eight goals give her 31 for her Cal Poly Pomona career, which is third on the all-time list. Her eight assists give her 29, which ties Ruth Van’t Land-Parkes’ record. She now has 91 total points, which is second all-time to Van’t Land’s 181.

About The Coach: One of the most recognizable names in United States soccer history, Paul Caligiuri is in his second year as Cal Poly Pomona’s head coach. He guided the Broncos to an 11-6-2 record last season despite several injuries to key players. He has a 21-13-3 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.

CAL POLY POMONA

Women’s Soccer

CPP Schedule & Results

8/28 at Fresno Pacific W 4-0

8/31 vs. Western Oregon W 1-0

9/3 at Concordia-Irvine T 1-1

9/9 vs. Grand Canyon* W 3-0

9/13 vs. UC San Diego* L 1-2 (OT)

9/16 at CS San Bernardino* L 3-5

9/19 at Cal State L.A.* W 3-1

9/22 at CS Dominguez Hills* L 0-1

9/26 vs. Cal State Stanislaus* W 1-0

9/28 vs. Cal State Bakersfield* L 1-4

10/3 vs. Sonoma State* W 3-2

10/5 vs. San Francisco State* W 3-2

10/10 at Chico State* L 2-3

10/12 at UC Davis* L 0-2

10/15 vs. Pt. Loma Nazarene L 0-4

10/25 at Grand Canyon* W 1-0

11/1 vs. CS San Bernardino* W 6-1

11/5 at UC San Diego* W 2-1

11/7 at CS Dominguez Hills+ 1:30 p.m.

*Denotes CCAA Game

+Denotes CCAA Championship Tournament Game