POMONA, Calif. - After three successful exhibition matches, the Cal Poly Pomona men's soccer team is ready to kick off its 2015 season. The Broncos' first week will be on the road as they challenge both the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds and the Point Loma Sea Lions.
Thursday will kick off the beginning of the season as the Broncos have a 7 p.m. start at Ramirez Field on the campus of Fresno Pacific. Last season, the Green and Gold prevailed over the Sunbirds at Kellogg Field by a score of 2-1. Overall though the teams have split their meetings with each squad winning just once. Fresno Pacific plays out of the PacWest conference.
After challenging the Sunbirds, the Broncos will head south to Point Loma to play the Sea Lions on their home field. In the last meeting of the two, CPP walked away with a 1-0 victory. Overall, the Broncos have had more success, going 6-2-1 in the all-time series. Point Loma is one of the Sunbirds' rivals as they also play out of the PacWest.
The 2014 campaign was a record-setting season full of firsts for the program. CPP won its first-ever CCAA Tournament Championship, secured an overall record of 17-1-2, allowed just 10 total goals, provided 51 total assists, totaled 11 shutouts, earned the program's lowest goals against average with a 0.50, secured its longest-ever win streak with 14, and tallied its highest-ever unbeaten streak at 16.
CPP did see the loss of four of their main starters as
Jose Ortega,
Daniel Garcia Jr.,
Armando Ochoa, and
Ian Trantow all completed their final season of eligibility in 2014. Despite that loss, the Broncos have 17 letterwinning members of that squad returning and have seven newcomers.
Included in the returners are CCAA Newcomer and Offensive Player of the Year
Christian Gonzalez Diaz who earned those honors after posting a conference leading 10 goals and adding three assists. Gonzalez Diaz earned a spot on the NSCAA All-West Region Team as well as a spot on both the All-West Region First Team and the All-CCAA Tournament Team.
Also coming back is
Fernando Pablo Quevedo, CPP's goalkeeper last season who secured a save percentage of 0.862, a number that landed him at second in the conference standings. Pablo Quevedo was named the All-CCAA Tournament Team's Most Outstanding Defensive Player after making three saves in the penalty kick shootout of the CCAA Tournament Championship game, enabling the Broncos to earn their first-ever Tournament Title.
Leonel Espinoza, who earned a spot on the NSCAA NCAA D-II All-West Region Team, will be playing his junior season. Espinoza was an integral part of the CPP back line, playing in 15 of the Broncos' 20 games. He helped the Broncos hold the opposition to eight goals in those 15 games, and scored the game-winning goal with a beautiful header on Oct. 12 in the Broncos' 2-1 win over Cal State Stanislaus.
Mathew Perez,
Jesus Tamayo, and
Alexander Turkson will all be returning as well for another season in Green and Gold.
CPP will play its first home game at Kellogg Field on Thursday Sept. 10 with a 7 p.m. start against Cal Baptist. The first 100 fans in attendance will receive a free team schedule poster.
