ARCATA, Calif. – In a thrilling finish, the No. 8 Cal Poly Pomona men's soccer team remains undefeated after an overtime 2-1 victory over the Jacks of Humboldt State. The win means the Broncos have clinched a first-round bye in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championships. As of Wednesday the Broncos received the No.1 ranking in the West Region for NCAA Division II.
 
With just two CCAA games left to play, the Broncos have earned an undefeated 9-0 in conference, which gives them an overall tally of 15-0-1 on the season.
 
With the heartbreaking loss for Humboldt, the Jacks dropped their fifth-straight, registering them at an overall 8-6-1 and 4-5 in the CCAA.
 
"Today was another great testament to the character of our leaders and the team," said head coach Yossi Raz. "The guys that participated fought hard throughout the match. I feel that Humboldt was enthusiastic and defended well, which created a very difficult environment in which to succeed. Coming from behind to get a win when you are the visitor is not an easy thing to do, especially after traveling for so long."
 
In the 12th minute, the Jacks put a one on their scoreboard as Sam Wahl put a ball in the Broncos' net. HSU's Austin Swartz took a shot that was deflected and found Wahl's feet. Humboldt's lone scorer placed the ball in the lower left corner of the goal.
 
The Jacks held the 1-0 lead through the majority of the game. Throughout the first period; the Broncos shot seven times, and held the Jacks to just two.
 
In the second half, the Broncos offense came alive and took a total of 14 shots at the HSU goal. Javier Torres, the Jacks goalkeeper, saved a total of six shots as the home-town defense kept the Broncos scoreless through nearly 84 minutes.
 
With mere minutes on the clock, the NCAA Division II assist leader, Daniel Garcia Jr., made his mark with the Broncos goal-scorers and put up his first goal of the season. Christian Gonzalez Diaz passed to Garcia Jr. from the right side of the field and the senior midfielder from Lakewood put the ball into the left side of the goal from five yards.
 
Garcia Jr.'s inaugural goal of 2014 sent the two teams into overtime with the score tied up at one apiece.
 
Overtime saw Fernando Pablo Quevedo, who is leading all of Division II in numerous goalie categories, earn another save, on the last shot on goal the Jacks would take in the game.
 
With just under three minutes remaining on the overtime clock, Leonel Espinoza took a shot that was deflected by a HSU defender. Abiel Coronado came up with the ball, and sent it into the lower left side of the goal, giving the Broncos their 14th-consecutive win.
 
"I am very happy for Garcia,"said Raz. "He has played very well for several games now, and it was great to see him show up and put a point on the board. I'm also very excited for Abiel, he gave us another winning goal. The goals showed the importance of working as a team, and it was a great defensive effort to keep them to only one goal."
 
 
The Broncos will travel to Sonoma State to take on the Seawolves on Sunday at 2 p.m. SSU is coming off of a 1-1 tie against UC San Diego on Friday. They currently hold a 7-7-2 overall record, and a 2-5-2 tally in conference play.