POMONA -- Jimmie Villalobos buried a shot in the 108th minute into the back of the net to lift the fourth-ranked Cal Poly Pomona men's soccer team to a thrilling 1-0 double overtime victory over visiting Montana State Billings Friday night to open the 2018 season with a bang.
Watch what Villalobos had to say about the double OT victory
here.
After a slow start in the opening 45 minutes of play that saw CPP outshot 6-4, the Broncos turned up the heat on the Yellowjackets, outshooting MSUB 19-6 after halftime. Villalobos took seven of the team's 23 shots in the contest, as his seventh shot would send the Broncos into a frenzy when he took a cross pass from
Sergio Martinez right in front of the goal and beat SFU keeper Ludvig Rhodin to the net for the game-winner.
Up until that point, the Broncos saw their share of chances to end the game in regulation, especially in the second half when the hosts fired 14 of the 17 shots taken by either team in the 45-minute span. In one instance, a rocket off the foot of Alon Groad from point blank range was halted when MSUB's Rhodin made a fingertip save on a ball that had goal written all over it.
In the end, CPP outshot MSUB, 23-12, including a 10-6 margin in shots on goal. Rhodin made nine saves for the Yellowjackets while the Broncos' senior netminder,
Jakob Hansen made six stops in his first-career start -- and shutout -- for CPP.
Cal Poly Pomona, ranked at No. 4 in the NCAA Division II Top 25 Preseason Coaches' Poll, returns to action Sunday evening when it hosts another nationally-ranked team, No. 20 Simon Fraser, at Kellogg Stadium at 6:00 pm. The Broncos and Clan have faced each other in the NCAA tournament in each of the past two seasons; CPP won 2-1 in the First Round last year, and the two teams tied in the Second Round in 2016, but CPP advanced after winning 4-3 in penalty kicks.