CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA

Bronco Sports News

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2003

Contact: Paul Helms

(909) 869-2812

 

 

WOMEN’S SOCCER

MEDIA NOTES

 

2003 CPP Record: 7-6-1. CCAA Record: 5-6-0 (15 points)

Regional Ranking: 8 (NSCAA)

 

Broncos Take A Breather From CCAA Play With A Non-League Test: Cal Poly Pomona’s women’s soccer team, after two tough defeats to California Collegiate Athletic Association North Division programs, will take a break from conference play this week and host Pt. Loma Nazarene on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Kellogg Field. The Broncos will resume CCAA play on Oct. 25 with a match at Grand Canyon. Cal Poly Pomona will also be at South Division leader UC San Diego on Oct. 29 before hosting Cal State San Bernardino on Nov. 1 at Kellogg Field in the regular-season finale. The Broncos are currently third in the South Division, five points behind second-place Cal State San Bernardino.

 

Last Week: Cal Poly Pomona endured a rough road trip and dropped a pair of games at Chico State and UC Davis. The Broncos were unable to hold a 2-1 second-half lead at Chico State on Friday and fell to the Wildcats, 3-2, and then were blanked at UC Davis on Sunday, 2-0. In the match against Chico State, the Wildcats jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute. Cal Poly Pomona, though, evened the score just before halftime when Karen Lawrence (Fr., Upland, Upland HS) scored her third goal of the season with an assist from Tara Chance (Sr., Alta Loma, Alta Loma HS). A long centering pass from Chance was bobbled by the Chico State goalie and Lawrence was able to take advantage and get the tying goal. The Broncos then took a 2-1 lead in the first five minutes of the second half when Kristin Ramaglia (So., San Diego, Cal State San Bernardino) headed in a pass from Chelsea Hipley (So., Sacramento, Woodcreek HS). The lead didn’t last long, though, because the Wildcats scored twice in a three-minute span, both on headers, to take the game. On Sunday, the Broncos had opportunities against UC Davis, but were unable to score. Lisa Araujo (Jr., Rialto, Eisenhower HS) had a shot hit the post in the first half and Hipley had a couple of point-blank chances in the second half, to no avail. The Aggies scored once in the 13th minute of the game and then again in the 73rd minute. Vanessa Richardson (So., Upland, Upland HS) made six saves in goal for the Broncos.

 

Scouting the Opposition: The Broncos will be facing Pt. Loma Nazarene for the first time on Wednesday night at Kellogg Field. Pt. Loma, an NAIA program, is 10-1-2 overall with seven shutouts. The Sea Lions are 2-1-2 in the Golden State Athletic Conference. Pt. Loma has outscored its opposition, 34-9.

 

Rankings: Cal Poly Pomona has fallen out of the national Top-25. The Broncos opened the season ranked 14th in the nation and climbed to 12th after the victories over Fresno Pacific and Western Oregon. Cal Poly Pomona finished 25th in the nation in 2002, its fourth straight finish in the national Top 25. The Broncos were second in 1999, 18th in 2000, ninth in 2001 and 25th 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 slipped to eighth in the latest regional rankings.

 

Taking A Chance: The Broncos are benefiting from the return of All-American 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 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 Friday.

 

Moving Up The Charts: Michelle McConnell (Sr., Alta Loma, Alta Loma HS) continues her fantastic Cal Poly Pomona career. McConnell, who has led the Broncos in scoring the past two years, is leading Cal Poly Pomona again this season. She was named the Brine CCAA Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 29 – Oct. 5. McConnell has five goals and six assists for 16 points in the Broncos’ first 14 games. The five goals give her 28 for her Cal Poly Pomona career, which is fifth on the all-time list. Her six assists give her 26 for her Cal Poly Pomona career, which is second only to Ruth Van’t Land’s record of 29.  She now has 82 total points, which is second all-time to Van’t Land’s 181.

 

Look Who’s Back: Cal Poly Pomona has some talented players returning from its 2002 squad that finished with an 11-6-2 overall record. The Broncos have seven starters and 12 players in all returning. Michelle McConnell (Sr., Alta Loma, Alta Loma HS) has led the team in scoring for the past two seasons. She earned first-team All-CCAA and second-team All-West Region honors last season after scoring eight goals and seven assists despite missing five matches due to a stress fracture in her shin. Lisa Araujo (Jr., Rialto, Eisenhower HS) tied for the team lead in goals scored last year with eight and earned first-team All-CCAA and second-team All-West Region honors. Erica Rodriguez (So., San Diego, Bonita Vista HS) was one of the most pleasant surprises last season and had five goals and three assists. Chelsea Hipley (So., Sacramento, Woodcreek HS) had a solid debut and earned second-team All-CCAA honors after finishing third in the team in scoring with four goals and 16 points. Vanessa Richardson (So., Upland, Upland HS) started four games last season and was ready to assume the No. 1 goaltender position this year. Richardson was 3-1-1 last year with a 1.06 goals against average. And, of course, Tara Chance (Sr., Alta Loma, Alta Loma HS) returns after missing most of the 2002 season with a knee injury.

 

Look Who’s New: The Broncos are very excited about what they consider an outstanding recruiting class. Devon Nizich (Fr., San Pedro, San Pedro HS) is one of the team’s playmakers and, in the team’s first 12 matches, she has one goal and two assists. Kristi Ibello (Fr., Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa HS) is another top newcomer who is expected is making significant contributions and Nicole Munoz (Jr., Claremont, Mt. San Antonio College) is starting to be a major factor as a midfielder after battling some injury woes. Bethany Inoshita (Fr., Ventura, Ventura HS) has helped solidify the defense and she’s shown some offensive punch as well, scoring two goals and contributing one assist. Karen Lawrence (Fr., Upland, Upland HS) has added some punch to the lineup and is tied second on the team in scoring with three goals and two assists.

 

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 18-12-3 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.

 

A Look Ahead: After the home game against Point Loma Nazarene on Wednesday, the Broncos will finish up with three CCAA games. The Broncos will be at Grand Canyon on Saturday, Oct. 25 and UC San Diego on Wednesday, Oct. 29  before concluding the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 1 with a home game against Cal State San Bernardino.

 

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                         7 p.m.

10/25   at Grand Canyon*                                5 p.m.

10/29   at UC San Diego*                                7 p.m.

11/1     vs. CS San Bernardino*                       7 p.m.

 

*Denotes CCAA Game