POMONA, Calif. – In a highly-anticipated matchup between two nationally-ranked opponents on Tuesday night, Cal Poly Pomona men's soccer stole the spotlight and
Sergi Monso took center stage.
The Broncos outhustled Fresno Pacific from start to finish and secured the 2-0 victory as Monso scored both of the goals. With his parents visiting from their hometown of Barcelona, Spain, Monso has tallied four goals since their arrival to California.
Entering this week, Fresno Pacific held the No. 15 spot in the NCAA Division II national rankings while CPP was featured at No. 23. The Broncos carry a 4-1-1 record into the start of California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play. Up next for CPP is a Friday road game at Sonoma State with a 3 p.m. kickoff.
"It's always exciting to play Fresno Pacific because they are well-coached and they are always very talented," Broncos' head coach
Yossi Raz said. "Our team executed well tonight and we're glad that we passed the final test before the difficult CCAA schedule starts Friday."
The Broncos outshot the Sunbirds 21-10 on Tuesday and it marks the team's fourth shutout of the season. Monso put CPP on the board in the 17th minute and the opportunity developed when
Hussein Heidari found
Dante Medina with a pass along the right side. Medina charged up the field and sent a cross to Monso, who cut straight to the goal and lined the ball past the FPU keeper.
At the 41:03 mark, Monso struck again. This time, junior
Daniel Altman sent a long cross into the box and
Luis Najera Jr. headed it over to Monso. Keeping the ball in the air throughout the play, Monso sent a header across the line to put the Broncos up 2-0. The assists marked the first points of the year for Altman and Najera.
The CPP defense played well through the 90 minutes of action as
Nadeer Ghantous,
Jesus Tamayo and
Leonel Espinoza stepped up to make big plays.
