CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA

Bronco Sports News

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2004

Contact: Paul Helms

(909) 869-2812

2004 CPP Record: 1-2. CCAA Record: 0-0

Broncos Still Have One More For The Road: The Cal Poly Pomona men’s soccer team, coming off two tough defeats on the first two legs of its three-game Washington swing, will complete their trip with a match Wednesday against Seattle University. The Broncos won their home opener against Bryant University (R.I.), but then lost road contests to Western Washington on Saturday and Seattle Pacific on Monday. Cal Poly Pomona will then be off for nine days until its next scheduled match, a home contest against Concordia University, on Friday, Sept. 10. The Broncos are bidding for their first winning season since 1999.

Last Week: The Broncos opened their season with a thrilling 4-2 over Bryant University in their home opener last Thursday. Matthew Barker (Fr., La Verne, Bonita HS) started his Bronco career in style by scoring two goals in the second half of the game. The Broncos also got goals from Andrew Pierce (Jr., Oswego N.Y., Oswego HS) and Robert Cardenas (Sr., Chino, Mt. San Antonio College). The Broncos won a season opener for the first time since 1997. However, they weren’t so fortunate in the first two games of their road trip. The Broncos dropped a 3-1 decision to Western Washington last Saturday. Although the Broncos tied the score just before halftime on a goal by Peter Hazdovac (Fr., San Pedro, San Pedro HS), Western Washington scored two second-half goals to take control of the game. The struggles continued for the Broncos as they lost their second game in a row, this time a narrow 1-0 loss to Seattle Pacific, on Monday. Although the Broncos had a number of scoring chances, they were never able to capitalize. Goalkeeper Tim Sisk (Jr., Diamond Bar, Diamond Bar HS) made four saves for the Broncos. The Falcons scored the only goal of the game on a free kick from about 25 yards that curled inside the near post.

Scouting the Opposition: The Broncos will be facing Seattle University for the fifth time. The Broncos are 0-4 in four previous meetings. Cal Poly Pomona last faced Seattle in 2002 and dropped a 2-1 decision at Kellogg Field.

Rankings: Cal Poly Pomona does not appear in NSCAA national preseason rankings. Chico State is ranked No. 2 in the nation while Cal State Dominguez Hills of the CCAA is the No. 9 ranked team in the country. UC San Diego is ranked No. 21 in the nation in the latest national polls.

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 16-20-3 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 2^nd 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 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 three games, while Van der Fluit has one assist – on the Hazdovac goal.

CAL POLY POMONA

Men’s Soccer

CPP Schedule & Results

8/26 vs. Bryant College W 4-2

8/28 at Western Wasington L 3-1

8/30 at Seattle Pacific L 1-0

9/1 at Seattle University 3:00 p.m.

9/10 vs. Concordia University 7:00 p.m.

9/14 at Cal State Dominguez Hills* 1:30 p.m.

9/17 vs. Cal State Monterey Bay* 7:00 p.m.

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