LOS ANGELES - The Cal Poly Pomona women's soccer team was unable to hold onto an early lead and fell in double-overtime after a wild finish at local rival Cal State LA, 2-1, in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) action at University Stadium on Thursday.
With the tough defeat, the Broncos see their 2021 campaign ended at 8-6-3 overall and 4-4-3 in the CCAA. The Golden Eagles, who had opened the year 0-7-2 before a four-game win streak, improve to 6-9-2 overall and 6-4-1 in league play. They are now 6-2 over their last eight. CPP had produced a 4-2 victory at home over Cal State LA in a non-conference meeting on Sept. 25 behind a
Taylor Scott brace.
The final day of the CCAA regular season began with CSULA fifth in the table and CPP in a two-way tie for sixth with Stanislaus State, with the top six advancing to the 2021 CCAA Tournament, and all six contests starting at 2 p.m. That scenario meant Thursday's winner would clinch a berth, with a loss or even a tie likely ending their year.
With the Broncos and Golden Eagles playing into a second overtime, theirs was one of the last two games still going, with one tourney spot left up for grabs after Stan State won 2-0 at Cal State East Bay to take the fifth entry. The first four tickets had already been punched last week.
Melody Landphear's late penalty in regulation offset
Emma Barrow's first-half strike for the Broncos. Just over two minutes into the second extra period, the Golden Eagles got out of their own defensive third with a well-booted long ball up the center of the field. Senior Irma Pinzon used her speed and fought off the final CPP defender for the ball, and sprinting alone toward a potential game-winner, she had to be brought down by goalkeeper
Sydney Williams. Williams suffered a red-card ejection for her second yellow-card offense of the match, so on came fellow senior
Clarissa Sanchez, to face a huge penalty kick, no less.
Landphear was called upon again, but Sanchez flew to her left to save the penalty kick at 102:31. However, just 1:19 later, the game, and Cal Poly Pomona's season, were still abruptly over. The hosts earned a free kick near the edge of the center circle, which was pumped into the penalty area. A headed clearance by a Bronco deflected off of a Golden Eagle player, and landed in front of Liliana Gonzalez with only Sanchez to beat. The true freshman unfortunately made no mistake with her finish from six yards, for her team-best fourth goal of 2021.
Cal State LA therefore jumped up to the No. 5 seed and will head to face fourth-seeded San Francisco State in Sunday's CCAA Tournament first round. Third-seeded Cal State East Bay will entertain No. 6 Stan State. Repeat regular-season champion Sonoma State and No. 2 seed Chico State await the winners, with Cal Poly Pomona and Kellogg Stadium playing host to the CCAA semifinals on Nov. 12 and final on Nov. 14. The Broncos tied with Cal State Monterey Bay for seventh in the table.
Thursday's result marked the end of the careers of 13 truly remarkable seniors and super seniors for sixth-year head coach
Jay Mason, a group made up of Barrow, Sanchez, Scott, Williams,
Alyssa Carthan,
Jillian Erwin,
Amanda Faber,
Elise Garcia,
Allison Hung,
Allyssa Larkin,
Shayna Larson,
Jessica Llamas and
Tori Morton.
With so much at stake, neither team wanted to take too big a chance in the early going, and the first shot of the contest thus did not come until the 11th minute, that by Scott, who corralled a loose ball on the right edge of the penalty area and blazed her left-footer over the crossbar.
Within three minutes, at 13:27, Cal Poly Pomona was first to the scoreboard. Junior defender
Bridget Carbonneau sent a deep ball into the area, which bounced around and was seemingly cleared out, but right into the path of Barrow. The graduate transfer from the University of San Diego produced a first-timed, left-footed effort from 20 yards straight on, and found the bottom right corner just inside the post for her team-best sixth goal of the year. The strike was unassisted.
In the 22nd, Cal State LA closed in on an equalizer despite not yet having a shot, as Pinzon was dribbling toward goal, but Faber closed nicely and knocked the ball out for the home side's first corner kick.
Then in the 26th, it was Pinzon again on the offensive end, this time indeed with CSULA's first shot, and it looked to be on target, forcing Williams to dive to her right to parry it away.
Following dueling long-distance tries late by Garcia and CSULA junior Bryanna Avina that sailed harmlessly into the goalie's arms and wide to the left, respectively, the visitors took a 1-0 lead on the scoreboard and 4-2 edge in shots into the halftime interval.
To begin the second half, Faber and Carbonneau continued to stifle Pinzon, as she dribbled in on the left side of the 18-yard box. In the 49th, Miyah Coleman's shot from the right diagonal was caught without trouble by Williams, and moments later, the same player missed high.
Cal State LA remained on the offensive, with Coleman again getting denied by Williams in the 54th, and Shelby Melin also off target. On the first one, Williams went down to her right to tip it away, and Carbonneau was first to it for the clearance ahead of two Golden Eagles.
The hosts ultimately notched the first six shots of the second half before Scott finally had one saved by true freshman Areli Reyes in the 64th.
At 79:50, the Golden Eagles got their equalizer. Vivian Viramontes was fouled inside the penalty box, and Landphear, a redshirt freshman, stepped up to slot her penalty shot low and to the left of Williams for 1-1. It was Landphear's second goal of the season, with the first one the 61st-minute winner in last Sunday's 1-0 home win over Humboldt State.
Over the final 10 minutes of regulation, CPP could only manage a pair of long-range shots from Scott and Larkin, and for the fifth time in 2021, the Broncos headed to overtime.
Just over a minute into the first extra session, Larkin got to Scott's great through ball around the edge of the six-yard box, but could only push her attempt wide to the left. In the 96th, Scott was turned away by Reyes. The duo was again involved in the waning seconds. Larkin first couldn't get a healthy swing on the ball in the middle from close range, and then her headed flick narrowly evaded the reach of Scott.
Williams wound up with three saves. She ends her incredible career in the green and gold No. 1 in program history in career goals-against average (.627), third in shutouts (22), tied for fourth in wins (23), sixth in goalie minutes (4447:41), and 10th in saves (148). Scott tied for fourth in the record book with her nine career game-winning goals.
Reyes played every minute and had four stops for Cal State LA. CPP wound up with a 12-11 edge in shots, and thus was only out-shot once the entire year, 14-8 at Sonoma State on Oct. 1.
Bronco Bits: Cal Poly Pomona is 43-33-15 (.555) overall and 25-20-14 (.542) in CCAA play under sixth-year head coach and 2019 CCAA Coach of the Year
Jay Mason ... Mason sent out the same starting 11 for the seventh time this season and first since the road win at Cal State Dominguez Hills, and used nine different lineups in 2021 ...
Alyssa Carthan and
Taylor Scott each began their 38th consecutive games, with Scott concluding her fine career with 40 appearances in a row ... The duo was among six Broncos who started all 17 games ...
Emma Barrow's first goal since Oct. 22 gave her eight for her college career, with six as at CPP and two at USD ... Barrow's tally snapped a goalless streak for the Broncos of 299:37 going back to the 1-0 win at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Oct. 24 ... CPP ends the 2021 season 3-4 on the road, with Thursday snapping a three-game win streak away from home, and 0-2-3 in overtime contests ... The Broncos are 3-2-2 against the Golden Eagles with Mason at the helm, including 1-2 in Los Angeles, and 24-12-8 in the all-time series (11-8-2 on the road) ... CPP was 2-0-1 over CSULA over the previous three meetings since a 1-0 road loss on Oct. 25, 2018.
