CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA

Bronco Sports News

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2004

Contact: Paul Helms

(909) 869-2812

 

2004 CPP Record: 4-8-1. CCAA Record: 2-5-1

 

Broncos Head Home for Two Important CCAA Matches: Cal Poly Pomona’s men’s soccer team will return home and take on two top California Collegiate Athletic Association North Division teams. The Broncos will host Sonoma State on Friday night at Kellogg Field and then entertain North Division leader San Francisco State on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. Cal Poly Pomona is coming off a successful road trip, tying Cal State Stanislaus, 2-2, on Friday and then beating 2003 NCAA Division II runner-up Chico State on Sunday, 2-0. The Broncos are 3-3 at home and 1-5-1 on the road so far in 2004. The Broncos are bidding for their first winning season since 1999.

 

Last Week: Cal Poly Pomona completed its best road trip of the season by earning a tie at Cal State Stanislaus and then blanking Chico State on Sunday. The Broncos broke out of their recent scoring drought with a hard-fought 2-2 tie against Cal State Stanislaus on Friday to open the trip. Cal Poly Pomona scored two first-half goals and then watched as Cal State Stanislaus countered with a pair of second-half tallies. Dawit Berhanu (Fr., Ontario, Montclair HS) scored on a header from a corner kick just 5:58 into the game. Robert Cardenas (Sr., Chino Hills, Mt. San Antonio College) picked up the assist. Berhanu scored his first goal of the season. Brandon Moses (Sr., Mission Viejo, Chico State) picked up the other goal for the Broncos with an assist from Ben Van der Fluit (Fr., Calabasas, Calabasas HS). That was Van der Fluit’s team-leading fourth assist of the season. The Broncos then scored an impressive 2-0 victory on the road against Chico State on Sunday. Cal Poly Pomona got goals from Peter Wallace (Sr., San Martin, De Anza College) and Cardenas. Jeff Coombs (Jr., Palm Springs, Palm Springs HS) made four saves for the Broncos and notched his first shutout of the season. Cal Poly Pomona had a 13-9 advantage on shots.    

 

Scouting the Opposition: Cal Poly Pomona is 7-4-0 all-time against Sonoma State. In 2003, the Broncos defeated the Seawolves 1-0 at Kellogg Field. Cal Poly Pomona’s last loss against Sonoma State came in 2001. Cal Poly Pomona is 7-3-2 all-time against San Francisco State. Last year, the Broncos beat the Gators 3-1 at Kellogg Field. San Francisco State is currently in first place in the CCAA North Division.

 

Rankings: Cal Poly Pomona does not appear in NSCAA national rankings. Cal State Dominguez Hills is ranked 15th in the nation, but is the only California Collegiate Athletic Association 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 was formally inducted into the Hall of Fame on Monday. 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 19-26-4 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. 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 13 games, while Van der Fluit has a team-leading four assists so far this season. Venegas is tied for the team lead in goals scored with two. Dawit Berhanu (Fr., Ontario, Montclair HS) and Aaron Borja (Fr., Upland, Upland HS) have also cracked the starting lineup in recent games. Berhanu scored the first goal of his Cal Poly Pomona career Friday against Cal State Stanislaus.

 

 

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*                                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