CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA

Bronco Sports News

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2004

Contact: Paul Helms

(909) 869-2812

 

2004 CPP Record: 2-5. CCAA Record: 0-2

 

Broncos Set To Continue CCAA Play This Week: The Cal Poly Pomona men’s soccer team, coming off a tough week, continues California Collegiate Athletic Association play with a pair of home games. The Broncos will host Cal State San Bernardino Tuesday night at 7 p.m. and No. 12 UC San Diego on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. The Broncos will be looking for their first win against the Coyotes since 2001. The Broncos are 2-1 at home and 0-4 on the road so far in 2004. The Broncos are bidding for their first winning season since 1999.

 

Last Week: Cal Poly Pomona had a rough opening week in California Collegiate Athletic Association play last week. In their conference opener last Tuesday in Carson, the Broncos fell to Cal State Dominguez Hills, 9-0. The loss was the most lopsided for the Broncos since a 10-0 loss to Azusa Pacific on Sept. 20, 1994. The Broncos fell behind 5-0 in the first 25 minutes and were never able to recover. Cal Poly Pomona was outshot 28-12 in the game. Goalkeepers Tim Sisk (Jr., Diamond Bar, Diamond Bar HS) and Jeff Coombs (Jr., Palm Springs, Palm Springs HS) combined for five saves. The Broncos then dropped a disappointing 1-0 decision to conference newcomer Cal State Monterey Bay Friday at Kellogg Field. The lone goal was scored in the 29th minute by the Otters’ Kyle Millerick. The Broncos outshot the Otters, 6-3, in the game. Dawit Berhanu (Fr., Ontario, Montclair HS) had the best scoring chance for the Broncos, but his hard left-footed shot in the waning minutes was stopped by the Cal State Monterey Bay goalie.

 

Scouting the Opposition: The Broncos are 13-16-5 all-time against Cal State San Bernardino and dropped two games last year against the Coyotes by identical 2-0 scores.  The Broncos are looking for their first victory against the Coyotes since 2001. Cal Poly Pomona is 4-12-2 all-time against UC San Diego. The two teams split a pair of games last season, each winning on its home field by a 2-1 score.

 

Rankings: Cal Poly Pomona does not appear in NSCAA national rankings. UC San Diego is ranked 12th in the nation, but is the only CCAA team ranked nationally.

 

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 will be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame in October. 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 17-23-3 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.

 

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. Pierce has one of the Broncos’ six goals so far this season.

 

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 their season-opening win against Bryant University. 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 expected to make immediate contributions to the Broncos this season. Hazdovac has scored one goal in the Broncos’ first seven games, while Van der Fluit has two assists so far this season. Dawit Berhanu (Fr., Ontario, Montclair HS) and Aaron Borja (Fr., Upland, Upland HS) have also cracked the starting lineup in recent games.

 

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*             7:00 p.m.

9/25     vs. UC San Diego*                               4:30 p.m.

9/29     vs. Cal State Bakersfield*                     4:30 p.m.

10/3     at Cal State L.A.*                                12:30 p.m.

10/8     at Cal State Stanislaus*                        12:30 p.m.

10/10   at Chico State*                                     3:00 p.m.

10/15   vs. Sonoma State*                                7:00 p.m.

10/17   vs. San Francisco State*                       12:30 p.m.

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