POMONA, Calif. – In a back-and-forth match that featured equal chances for both squads, Cal Poly Pomona women's soccer trailed the defending national champion Grand Valley State on Sunday with 13 minutes left in regulation.
Broncos' junior forward
Stephanie Rodriguez proved to be the hero of the day, delivering the equalizing score in the 78th minute and helping CPP finish with a 1-1 draw against the No. 1-ranked Lakers.
"I am extremely proud of our team effort after a disappointing result on Thursday against another championship team in Point Loma," Broncos' head coach
Jay Mason said. "Our team's response today epitomizes what they aspire to achieve this season. Our total commitment from each player gave us a great result against arguably the top soccer program in the country for the past three years."
To start the CPP scoring play,
Natalie Di Angelo sent a free kick into the right corner of the field and the ball was flicked on to
Hailey James. A short pass went to
Hannah Havelind, who delivered a cross back to the center of the box.
Lakers' goalkeeper Jennifer Steinaway tried to dive and pull the ball in but it caromed loose. Rodriguez didn't waste any time, lining a shot to the open net for her second career goal.
Just eight minutes earlier, Broncos' goalie
Ricki Ives punched away a free kick off the foot of two-time NCAA Division II National Player of the Year Marti Corby. That save kept the score at 1-0 before Rodriguez struck for the game-tying goal.
As the game moved into overtime, sophomore
Sydney Yates put pressure on the GVSU defense with a pair of shots. Yates finished the day with five shots, two of which were on goal. Junior forward
Daisy Duran also stayed active offensively, collecting three shots of her own.
Joining Di Angelo with the full 110 minutes played were
Sierra Molina and
Alison Kung, all of whom helped limit the Lakers' offense to just one score.
Having completed a two-game homestand to start the season, CPP hits the road to take on local rival Cal Baptist at 2 p.m. on Thursday.
