CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA

Bronco Sports News

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2004

Contact: Paul Helms

(909) 869-2812

WOMEN’S SOCCER

MEDIA NOTES

2004 CPP Record: 9-6-4. 2004 CCAA Record: 8-2-4

2004 Far West Region Ranking: 7 (NCAA, 11-3-04)

They’re Back!! Broncos Return To CCAA Championship Tourney: Cal Poly Pomona’s women’s soccer team, which is unbeaten in its last six games, will be making its unprecedented seventh straight appearance in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament this week. Cal Poly Pomona is the only women’s soccer program to qualify for the tourney in all seven years of its existence. The Broncos won the CCAA title in 1999 and advanced all the way to the NCAA Division II championship game. The Broncos, who finished second in the CCAA South Division with 28 points, will face North Division champion Chico State in a first-round match Friday at 11 a.m. at Cal State Dominguez Hills’ Toro Field. Chico State finished with 30 points. South Division champion UC San Diego will face No. 4 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills at 1:30 p.m. The two winners will meet for the conference title on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. After a 0-4 start, Cal Poly Pomona is 9-2-4 in its last 15 games. The Broncos finished the regular season with a 4-0-2 run. Cal Poly Pomona is eighth in the latest Far West Region rankings, which were released last Wednesday and did not include the Broncos’ road wins over No. 2 UC San Diego and Cal State Bakersfield and a home tie against No. 4 Cal State Dominguez Hills. The top four teams in the NCAA Division II Far West region will earn playoff bids.

What’s At Stake: The Broncos will be shooting for their third California Collegiate Athletic Association championship and first since 1999. Cal Poly Pomona is also hoping for a shot at the NCAA Division II playoffs. The Broncos made their last playoff appearance in 2001. The top four teams in the Far West region will advance to the playoffs. Cal Poly Pomona was ranked eighth in the latest NCAA rankings, which were released last Wednesday and did not include Cal Poly Pomona wins over UC San Diego and Cal State Bakersfield and a tie against Cal State Dominguez Hills. New rankings are scheduled to be released on Wednesday. Chico State, Cal Poly Pomona’s first-round CCAA opponent, was ranked fifth, while Cal State Dominguez Hills was ranked fourth and UC San Diego was ranked second. The NCAA playoff pairings will be announced on Monday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m.

How We Got Here: Cal Poly Pomona earned its way into the CCAA Championship Tournament thanks to an impressive late-season rush. The Broncos were 4-0-2 in their final six conference matches and captured the first wildcard and the No. 3 seed into the conference tourney. The Broncos played three matches last week and won twice. Cal Poly Pomona started the week with a 4-3 win at UC San Diego on Monday. Jacqueline Ragudos (Fr., San Diego, U. of San Diego HS) and Erica Rodriguez (Jr., San Diego. Bonita Vista HS) scored two goals each with Rodriguez netting the game-winner with 7:54 remaining in regulation. The four goals were the most scored by the Broncos against the Tritons since 1990. Cal Poly Pomona then clinched its spot in the tournament with a 1-0 win at Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday. Rodriguez got the game-winning goal for the second straight match, scoring with an assist from Sara Flowers (Fr., Santee, Santana HS) just 23 seconds into the second half. Vanessa Richardson (Jr., Upland, Upland HS) made three saves for the Broncos to record her fifth solo shutout of the season. The Broncos then concluded their regular-season with a 2-2 tie against Cal State Dominguez Hills at Kellogg Field. Cal Poly Pomona honored six players who are concluding their playing careers for the Broncos this season: Jillian Burdwell (Sr., Ontario, Upland HS), Nicole Munoz (Sr., Claremont, Mt. San Antonio College), Lisa Araujo (Sr., Rialto, Eisenhower HS), Tia Rudolph (Sr., Rancho Cucamonga, Alta Loma HS), Kristin Ramaglia (Sr., San Diego, Cal State San Bernardino) and Rocio Real (Sr., Upland, Mt. San Antonio College). The Broncos then erased a 2-0 deficit with a two-goal flurry in the second half. Two long throw-ins by Stephanie Mrazik (Fr., Brea, Brea-Olinda HS) led to both goals. First, a throw-in by Mrazik was batted around by both teams before Rudolph was able to get off a shot through traffic that found the net in the 66^th minute. Then, Ragudos got to a throw-in by Mrazik and knocked a shot into the goal to tie the game. Cal Poly Pomona enjoyed a 15-8 edge in shots.

Tournament History: Cal Poly Pomona has qualified for the CCAA Championship Tournament for the seventh time. In six previous appearances, the Broncos are 4-5 overall with one title and two second-place finishes. Cal Poly Pomona has been knocked out of the tourney in the first round in the past two years. Last year, the Broncos lost to host Cal State Dominguez Hills, 2-1. In 2002, the Broncos lost to UC Davis, 2-1, in overtime. The Broncos beat Cal State Dominguez Hills, 2-0, and then lost to UC San Diego in the title game, 1-0, in 2001. The Broncos lost to UC San Diego, 2-1, in the first round in 2000. In 1999, the Broncos beat UC Davis, 1-0, and then Cal State Dominguez Hills, 1-0, to win the CCAA title. In 1998, the Broncos beat Sonoma State, 1-0 and then lost to Cal State Dominguez Hills, 1-0, in the title match. Cal Poly Pomona has never faced Chico State in a CCAA Championship Tournament game. The Broncos are 2-2 against Cal State Dominguez Hills in CCAA tourney games and 0-2 against UC San Diego in conference tournament games.

Rankings: Cal Poly Pomona does not appear in the NSCAA national rankings. Among California Collegiate Athletic Association programs, UC San Diego is 24^th and Cal State Dominguez Hills is 25th. The Broncos are sixth in the most recent NSCAA Far West region rankings with UC San Diego third and Chico State and Cal State Dominguez Hills tied for fourth. In the NCAA rankings last week, the Broncos were eighth. New NCAA rankings will be announced on Wednesday.

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. He has led the Broncos to a 9-6-4 record and into the CCAA Championship Tournament for a seventh straight season. He guided the Broncos to a 10-8-1 record last season and a CCAA Tournament appearance, where the Broncos lost to Cal State Dominguez Hills, 2-1. Caligiuri was elected to the United States Soccer Hall of Fame earlier this year and was formally inducted into the Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y., on Oct. 11. In his first season as the Broncos’ head coach, Caligiuri guided the Broncos to an 11-6-2 record and into the CCAA Championship Tournament. He has a 30-20-7 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: Cal Poly Pomona has some talented players returning from its 2003 squad that finished with a 10-8-1 overall record. Leading the list of returners is Lisa Araujo (Sr., Rialto, Eisenhower HS), who was the CCAA Freshman of the Year in 2001 and earned first-team All-CCAA honors the past two seasons. Araujo was second on the team last year in scoring with six goals and 12 points. She has six goals and 14 points so far this season. She has scored 26 goals in her Cal Poly Pomona career, which places her sixth on the all-time Cal Poly Pomona career list. She has 66 points, which also places her sixth. Also returning is the team’s third-leading scorer from last season, Erica Rodriguez (Jr., San Diego, Bonita Vista HS), who had three goals, four assists and 10 points. Vanessa Richardson (Jr., Upland, Upland HS) returns in goal for the Broncos. She has recorded 10 shutouts in her Cal Poly Pomona career, including five last season. Chelsea Hipley (Jr., Sacramento, Woodcreek HS), who earned second-team All-CCAA honors as a freshman, is another top returner. She had eight assists as a freshman and has a total of 15 in her Cal Poly Pomona career. The Broncos also welcome back Tia Rudolph (Sr., Rancho Cucamonga, Alta Loma HS), who earned second-team All-CCAA honors in 2002 and sat out last season.

Look Who’s New: The Broncos are very excited about what they consider to be an outstanding recruiting class. Jacqueline Ragudos (Fr., San Diego, University HS) has been one of the top freshmen in the conference and is second on the team in scoring with six goals and 14 points. Midfielders Sara Flowers (Fr., Santee, Santana HS) and Stephanie Mrazik (Fr., Brea, Brea-Olinda HS) have also been major contributors. Mrazik has appeared in 18 games and scored one goal and one assist. Flowers has appeared in 17 games and has three assists. A fourth freshman, Lindsey Latham (Fr., San Diego, Our Lady of Peace HS), has been a major contributor on the Bronco defense.

CAL POLY POMONA

Women’s Soccer

CPP Schedule & Results

8/26 vs. Bryant University L 2-3 (OT)

8/28 at Western Washington L 0-1

8/30 at Seattle Pacific L 0-4

9/7 at Azusa Pacific L 0-1 (OT)

9/10 vs. Concordia W 2-1

9/14 at CS Dominguez Hills* W 2-1

9/17 vs. Cal State Monterey Bay* W 6-0

9/21 vs. CS San Bernardino* T 1-1

9/25 vs. UC San Diego* L 1-3

9/29 vs. Cal State Bakersfield* T 0-0

10/3 at Cal State L.A.* W 1-0

10/8 at Cal State Stanislaus* W 3-0

10/10 at Chico State* L 0-1

10/15 vs. Sonoma State* T 2-2

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

10/23 vs. Cal State L.A.* W 2-0

10/25 at UC San Diego* W 4-3

10/27 at Cal State Bakersfield* W 1-0

10/30 vs. CS Dominguez Hills* T 2-2

11/5 vs. Chico State! 11 a.m.

11/7 vs. CCAA Tournament# 11:30 a.m.

*Denotes CCAA Game

! = CCAA Tournament game at CSDH

# = Broncos must win on 11/5 to play on 11/7