CARSON, Calif. – With goals from
Luis Najera Jr. and
Sergi Monso on Sunday, the Cal Poly Pomona men's soccer team secured a 2-1 road win over Cal State Dominguez Hills.
The result moves the Broncos up to third place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings. Two regular season games are remaining and then the top two CCAA teams will earn first-round byes in the conference tournament while the other four squads battle it out at campus sites on Nov. 1. Currently, UC San Diego holds first place with 25 points, Chico State is in second with 23 points and the Broncos are at No. 3 with 22 points.
On Sunday in Carson, CPP and Dominguez Hills were evenly matched. The Toros finished with a slight 15-12 edge in shots while each squad attempted six corner kicks. Broncos' goalkeeper
Jason Trejos collected four saves while CSUDH netminder Benito Gonzalez tallied five stops.
When the Toros gave away possession in the 29th minute, CPP capitalized quickly. Monso delivered a pass to into the box to give Najera a one-on-one opportunity with the goalie. From 10 yards out, Najera easily lined a shot into the left of the net. He has now scored in four-consecutive games and CPP owns a 3-0-1 record in that span.
Just a few minutes into the second half, the Broncos struck again. Monso took the ball from midfield and dribbled it to the top of the 18-yard box. He then blasted a shot over the head of the Toros' keeper to extend CPP's lead to 2-0. It marked the ninth goal of the season for Monso, who ranks second on the conference leaderboard for that statistic.
In the 79th minute, Dominguez Hills got on the board with a score from Emmanuel Corona. The Broncos' defense held tough after that point though, keeping the Toros to zero shots in the final 11 minutes of action.
CPP returns to action on Thursday with a 3 p.m. home game against Cal State San Marcos. The first 80 students arriving to the 12:30 p.m. doubleheader start will receive a free phone wallet courtesy of Student Health and Counseling Services.
