NCAA Division II Tournament Bracket
SEATTLE – In topping No. 1 seed and host Simon Fraser 4-3 in penalty kicks on Saturday, Cal Poly Pomona men's soccer has advanced to the West Region title game for the second-consecutive year.
Simon Fraser entered the postseason with a No. 3 ranking in the Division II national poll but the Broncos' monumental result in the NCAA Tournament Second Round ends the SFU season at a mark of 14-1-3.
The Broncos (13-5-3) advance to the West Region title game to be played Friday at 7 pm. CPP will take on conference rival UC San Diego in La Jolla. The winner will advance to Sunday in La Jolla for the quarterfinal matchup, which will be played against the South Central regional champion - either St. Edward's or Midwestern State.
"Today is another special day for our program as we enjoyed a shutout against a quality, well-coached SFU team," Broncos' head coach
Yossi Raz said. "Our players' commitment to each other and the execution of the details were at a very high level. The players' ability to overcome adversity this weekend was outstanding."
At halftime on Saturday, SFU held a slight 4-2 advantage in shots. Each team produced two corner kick opportunities through the first 45 minutes. In the second half, SFU outshot the Broncos 5-1 and managed to take six corner kicks. The CPP defense continued to hold tough and after 90 minutes of a 0-0 score, overtime proved to be scoreless as well.
After two rounds of penalty kicks, Simon Fraser held a 1-0 lead and the Broncos were nearing elimination. The intensity of the moment didn't deter CPP though as the next four Broncos converted on their PK attempts. That group included
Sergi Monso,
Jose Garcia,
Dante Medina and
Ori Kenett. To cap off the amazing afternoon for CPP men's soccer, goalkeeper
Jason Trejos dove to his left and stopped the shot of SFU Ryan Hillon to wrap up the 4-3 result in penalty kicks.
In the trio of Monso, Garcia and Medina, all three have scored this season. Up until he stepped in for the critical penalty kick on Saturday in Seattle, Kenett hadn't seen action in more than a month. Through 2016, he's played just 28 minutes with zero goals and zero assists. The freshman from Israel came through in the clutch, giving the Broncos a 4-3 lead in penalty kicks and turning it over to the other CPP hero of the day - Trejos.
