TURLOCK, Calif. – Like freight trains barreling down the tracks, Cal Poly Pomona and sixth-ranked Cal State Stanislaus entered Sunday's match with plenty of momentum.
In the end, the Broncos stopped the Warriors' 10-game winning streak in its tracks. As the match entered the final minute of regulation at a 2-2 score,
Samantha Stiles recorded the game winner for CPP with just six seconds left on the clock.
It marked the Broncos' first victory over a nationally-ranked opponent since Oct. 25, 2004. The result also pushes CPP's undefeated streak to seven games, the longest undefeated stretch since the 2001 team won eight-consecutive matches.
"We got a tremendous team effort this entire weekend," Broncos' head coach Isabelle Harvey said. "Whenever one of our players is called upon during the game, they are all ready to step up and contribute their best."
The victory also lifts the Broncos into third place in the South Division of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA).
CPP ranks fifth on the conference's points leaderboard with 17 at a 5-4-2 mark. Ahead of the Broncos are Sonoma State (28 points), UC San Diego (26), Cal State Stanislaus (24) and Cal State L.A. (18). The CCAA Soccer Championship Tournament, to be held Nov. 2 through Nov. 4 in Carson, consists of the two division winners and the next two teams with the highest point totals.
Both offenses of the Broncos and Warriors were clicking in the later stages of the first half Sunday.
Aneska Alino, playing about two hours from her hometown of San Jose, got CPP on the board in the 24th minute. After stealing the ball away from CSUS goalkeeper Millie Brown, Alino placed a shot into the open net from close range.
The Warriors evened the score at the 37:56 mark when a corner kick from Jordan Moineau led to a header goal by Karli Nestler. The first-half scoring was far from over as the teams would enter halftime locked at 2-2.
In the 43rd minute,
Alison Sauve dribbled through the middle of the Warriors' defense and then sent a slick pass to the left for
Kaelyn Kaichi. A splendid shot from Kaichi sailed over the keeper's head into the upper right corner of the net to lift CPP ahead 2-1.
Just 52 seconds later, Stanislaus got the equalizer off a free kick opportunity. Emily Relles found Apryl Whitney for a finish from the far post to even the score at 2-2.
Although the shots continued to fly in the second half, both defenses tightened up their play to keep the score tied. That is, until
Cindy Paez lined up for a corner kick in the final minute. Her pass crossed into the box and found Stiles, who lined the game-winning shot that crossed the goalline with just six seconds to play.
Carrying an undefeated streak that stretches back to Sept. 23, the Broncos will now return home to host Cal State East Bay on Friday at 3 p.m.