CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA

Bronco Sports News

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2004

Contact: Paul Helms

(909) 869-2812

 

2004 CPP Record: 7-9-1. CCAA Record: 5-6-1

 

Broncos Try To Finish Regular Season With A Rush: Cal Poly Pomona’s men’s soccer team, coming off wins over Cal State L.A. and UC San Diego in the past few days, looks to extend their season-high three-game winning streak. The Broncos will conclude their 2004 regular season with a match at Cal State Bakersfield on Wednesday and a home match against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday. The Broncos have won three straight matches and four of their last five and still have a mathematical shot at reaching the four-team California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament. The Broncos need to win their last two matches to finish with 22 points and hope that UC San Diego and Cal State L.A. do no better than a loss and a tie in their last two matches. The task, obviously, is huge, considering the Broncos would have to beat the Toros, who are 10-0-2 in conference and the Roadrunners, who are 9-1-2, to have a chance. But, considering that the Broncos were just 1-5-1 in conference play at one point, the fact they still have a mathematical chance is quite a feat. The Broncos are 5-4 at home and 2-5-1 on the road so far in 2004. The Broncos are bidding for their first winning season since 1999.

 

Last Week: Cal Poly Pomona had tremendous results in matches on Saturday against Cal State L.A. and Monday at UC San Diego. The Broncos scored three goals in a five-minute span of the second half and beat Cal State L.A., 3-2, Saturday at Kellogg Field. Dustin Venegas (Fr., Lakewood, Los Alamitos HS) scored two goals for the Broncos, while Matthew Barker (So., La Verne, Bonita HS) had the other goal. The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a penalty kick just 4:18 into the game. Barker, though, started the Broncos’ second-half flurry in the 50th minute when he headed in a cross from Ben Van der Fluit (Fr., Calabasas, Calabasas HS). Venegas then gave the Broncos a 2-1 lead when he headed in a throw-in from Darren Ross (Jr., Northridge, El Camino HS) in the 54th minute. Then, 73 seconds later, Venegas headed in a cross from Van der Fluit to put the Broncos ahead, 3-1. Jeff Coombs (Jr., Palm Springs, Palm Springs HS) made seven saves for the Broncos. The Broncos then played at UC San Diego on Monday in a game postponed from last Wednesday because of rain. Cal Poly Pomona rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the last 20 minutes of regulation and beat the Tritons, 3-2, in double overtime. Van der Fluit scored the game-winning goal 5:49 into the second overtime period. Venegas, for the second straight game, scored two goals, getting the Broncos on the board with a steal and quick goal in the 71st minute and then scoring again in the 87th minute with an assist from Kory Felix (Sr., Brea, Brea-Olinda HS). Van der Fluit’s game-winner came with an assist from Joe DeVito (Sr., Walnut Creek, De La Salle HS). Coombs had eight saves in the game for the Broncos. Cal Poly Pomona avenged a 6-1 loss to UC San Diego on Sept. 25 at Kellogg Field.

 

Scouting the Opposition: Cal Poly Pomona is 13-23-3 all-time against Cal State Bakersfield. The Roadrunners posted a 2-0 win over the Broncos on Sept. 29 at Kellogg Field.  The Broncos do not own a win over Cal State Bakersfield since the 1998 season and are 0-3-4 in the last seven meetings. Cal Poly Pomona is 8-26-5 all-time against Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Broncos lost to the Toros, 9-0, on Sept. 14 in Carson. The Broncos have lost their last seven matches to the Toros and haven’t beaten Cal State Dominguez Hills since the 1998 season.

 

Rankings: Cal Poly Pomona does not appear in NSCAA national rankings. Cal State Dominguez Hills is ranked 10th in the nation, but is the only California Collegiate Athletic Association team ranked nationally. Cal State Bakersfield received votes in the most recent poll, but did not make the Top 25.

 

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 was formally inducted into the Hall of Fame on Monday, Oct. 11. 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 22-27-4 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.

 

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 a season-opening win against Bryant University and has four goals for the season. 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 making immediate contributions to the Broncos this season. Venegas leads the team with six goals and has scored four goals in the past two games. Van der Fluit has a team-high six assists and has two game-winning goals, including the deciding goal in double overtime against UC San Diego on Monday. Dawit Berhanu (Fr., Montclair, Ontario HS) has also been a regular starter in the Broncos’ lineup in recent weeks.

 

A Family Hat Trick: It was quite a day for the Venegas family Saturday when the Broncos battled Cal State L.A. Jamie Venegas (Jr., Lakewood, Los Alamitos HS) scored a goal in the Bronco women’s 2-0 win over Cal State L.A. and younger brother Dustin Venegas (Jr., Lakewood, Los Alamitos HS) scored a pair of goals in a 3-2 win over the Golden Eagles. Dustin Venegas leads the men’s team in scoring with six goals and 12 points, while Jamie Venegas had a pair of goals and six points for the Bronco women.

 

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*             W 2-1

9/25     vs. UC San Diego*                               L 1-6

9/29     vs. Cal State Bakersfield*                     L 0-2

10/3     at Cal State L.A.*                                L 0-2

10/8     at Cal State Stanislaus*                         T 2-2

10/10   at Chico State*                                     W 2-0

10/15   vs. Sonoma State*                                L 1-2 (OT)

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

10/23   vs. Cal State L.A.*                               W 3-2

10/25   at UC San Diego                                  W 3-2 (2 OT)

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