CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA

Bronco Sports News

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2004

Contact: Paul Helms

(909) 869-2812

 

2004 CPP Record: 3-6. CCAA Record: 1-3

 

Broncos Will Conclude Homestand, Head For Los Angeles: Cal Poly Pomona’s men’s soccer team concludes its four-match home stand this Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. against Cal State Bakersfield at Kellogg Field. The Broncos will then travel to Los Angeles on Sunday to meet Cal State L.A. in a 12:30 p.m. contest. The Broncos will be looking for their first win against the Roadrunners since 2001. The Broncos are 3-2 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 mixed results in California Collegiate Athletic Association play last week. The Broncos picked up their first conference win with a hard-fought 2-1 win against Cal State San Bernardino at Kellogg Field on Tuesday. Cal Poly Pomona jumped out to a 2-0 first-half lead thanks to goals from Dustin Venegas (Fr., Lakewood, Los Alamitos HS) and Sean Cima (Fr., Los Alamitos, Los Alamitos HS). The Broncos had to play the final 24 minutes a man down when Robert Cardenas (Sr., Chino Hills, Mt. San Antonio College) received a second yellow card and was ejected. Goalkeeper Gabriel Ward (Sr., Chino Hills, Damien HS) made four saves in relief of the injured Tim Sisk (Jr., Diamond Bar, Diamond Bar HS), including several key plays down the stretch. Cal Poly Pomona was not so fortunate last Saturday against UC San Diego at Kellogg Field. The Tritons defeated the Broncos, 6-1, thanks mainly to three first-half goals from UC San Diego’s Matthew Davey. The Broncos were able to avoid a shutout when Dustin Venegas (Fr., Lakewood, Los Alamitos HS) scored in the final minute of the game. The Broncos were outshot by the Tritons, 17-4. Ward and Jeff Coombs (Jr., Palm Springs, Palm Springs HS) had three saves each for Cal Poly Pomona.

 

Scouting the Opposition: Cal Poly Pomona is 13-22-3 all-time against Cal State Bakersfield. In 2003, the Broncos and the Roadrunners played to a tie in their only encounter, 0-0 at Kellogg Field. The Broncos are 0-3-2 in their last five meetings with the Roadrunners. Cal Poly Pomona is looking for its first win against Cal State Bakersfield since 1998. Cal Poly Pomona is 11-11-2 all-time against Cal State Los Angeles. In 2003, the Broncos defeated the Golden Eagles, 3-0, at Cal State L.A. Cal Poly Pomona has not lost to Cal State Los Angeles since 1996.

 

Rankings: Cal Poly Pomona does not appear in NSCAA national rankings. UC San Diego is ranked 16th 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 an 18-24-3 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’ 10 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 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 10 games, while Van der Fluit has three 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.

 

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*                     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