POMONA – In their home opener of the 2017 season, the 15^th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona men's soccer team handled the visiting Azusa Pacific University Cougars with relative ease, earning a 5-1 victory.
 
As the Broncos improve to 1-0 the win comes as the first for Adam Reeves as the Acting Head Coach for CPP.
 
"I am delighted to have my first win under my belt and I couldn't think of a better group to make my debut with," said Reeves.
 
Also making his debut with the Broncos is junior Jimmie Villalobos who opened the scoring just under 20 minutes into the first half of play as Jordan Jackmon crossed the ball, finding Villalobos for the score.
 
"After a shaky start, we settled in well, made a couple adjustments and were able to control most of the game," continued Reeves.
 
The Broncos outshot APU 19-14 while landing 12 shots on goal compared to only three from the Cougars. CPP continued to pressure on the offensive side of the ball throughout the night, but couldn't finish as APU tallied four saves in the first half.
 
Villalobos almost had his second goal of the season, finding the ball off a rebound before sailing the ball just high to start the second half.
 
The Cougars finally broke the Broncos defense in the 62^nd minute, as Ethan Hopkins headed the ball after a deflection to even the game at 1-1.
 
Not long after, CPP took back the lead as Sergi Monso scored his first goal of the season off a penalty kick, sneaking passed the keeper in the bottom corner.
 
"After Azusa tied things up, we responded well and didn't miss a beat on offense. With how strong our attack can be, if we can get the entire group to defend I know this team can do some special things," said Reeves.
 
Just over five minutes later, the Broncos added another goal, this time coming off a penalty kick from Matthew Perez. Scoring their third goal in 10 minutes was Kevin Martinez after some help from Jose Garcia, giving the Broncos a 4-1 advantage.
 
Closing out the game, Monso took a through ball from Alejandro Flores up the middle of the field before sliding just right of the keeper for his second goal the night.
 
"The debut by Villalobos along with the return of Perez and the continued performances by Monso, Nadeer Ghantous and Martinez, really helps this team. But as good as we were tonight, we still have a lot to improve on," added Reeves.
 
The Broncos return to Kellogg Field on Saturday night as they host Biola University on Sept. 2, at 7 p.m.