POMONA, Calif. – In front of a hometown crowd sporting pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Cal Poly Pomona women's soccer team secured a 3-0 win Friday against the Pioneers of Cal State East Bay.
"I thought it was a good solid win for us," head coach
Mike Dibbini said. "We definitely needed it after a tough last weekend. I think the bottom line with our team is when we show the personality of our team both offensively and defensively, we play well, and we showed it today."
The win improved the Broncos to an overall record of 7-4, while registering another W in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The win brings CPP's conference tally to 2-3.
CSUEB, with the loss, lowers its win percentage to .500 as they hold a 5-5-2 record overall and a 2-3 mark in conference.
It was a day of firsts for the Broncos as three separate players scored their first goal of the season.
Despite a strong offensive showing in the first half, wherein the Broncos posted 13 shots, they were unable to find the back of the net.
In the second half, the Broncos' middle name was efficiency. They tallied five shots, and three of those gave the Broncos their victory.
Junior
Rachel Killigrew scored her first goal in Bronco green and gold in the 52nd minute as she fired a long free kick from 30 yards. Her shot deflected off the crossbar and past the East Bay goalkeeper, thus adding her name to the ever-growing list of Bronco scorers.
Some 25 minutes later, sophomore
Hailey James would add her name to that list as well. James found herself open and with a timely pass from
Melissa Martinez she was able to tally up the Broncos' second goal of the day. That goal marks James' second as a Bronco.
In the waning minutes of the game, CPP would tack on another point as
Alana Shaw crossed the ball from the left corner to an open
Lauren Miller. Miller, a sophomore, would proceed to take a shot from eight yards out and finalize the Pioneers' fate. As with James, the goal is Miller's second in her time at CPP.
"We just have to take it one game at a time," said Dibbini. "And we must do our best to prepare for nationally-ranked Stanislaus."
The Broncos return to Kellogg Field on Sunday as they take on No. 7 Cal State Stanislaus. CSUS (11-1, 4-1 CCAA) defeated the UC San Diego Tritons 4-2 on Friday. Sunday's match is set to begin 2 p.m.
