SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - The No. 5 Cal Poly Pomona men's soccer team scored once in each half and held on at the end to a 2-1 triumph over host Cal State San Bernardino in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) action at Premier Field Thursday.

Cal Poly Pomona was already locked in to the No. 2 seed for the 2023 CCAA Tournament, which will mark its ninth successive trip. The Broncos were mathematically eliminated last Sunday from contention for the regular-season crown, with No. 4 Cal State LA having already clinched that, alongside the top seed.

A fifth consecutive win to match its longest streak of the season moves CPP to 12-1-4 overall and 8-1-2 in the CCAA. CSUSB falls to 7-6-4 overall and 4-5-2 in league play, but will still continue into the postseason as well as the No. 6 seed for the CCAA tourney. The Yotes had won two straight and were an unbeaten 2-0-1 over their last three.

Cal Poly Pomona will in fact await the winner between CSUSB and No. 3 seed Cal State Monterey Bay in the early semifinal on Friday, Nov. 10, in Arcata on the campus of Cal Poly Humboldt. Kickoff at College Creek Field is set for 11 a.m. on the CCAA Network. The Otters and Yotes face off this Sunday, Nov. 5, at 1 p.m. in Seaside. The CCAA Tournament final has a 12 p.m. start on Sunday, Nov. 12, also in Arcata, with the winner once again earning the CCAA's automatic NCAA bid.

CPP grabbed the lead at 10:35. Jasper Winslow took a long throw-in from the right side by Melvyn Perez Cortez just inside his own half in the center of the pitch, dribbled about 20 yards forward and delivered a pass to Woody Angell on the ground. The sophomore midfielder from Alton, England, took one settling touch, cut a defender with his right foot to the very top of the box, and produced a left-footed bullet, also on the ground, from 18 yards that glanced off the right post past the diving goalie and went in. Angell's goal gives him four this season and four total in the green and gold. Winslow was not credited with the assist.

Following the halftime interval, the Broncos doubled their advantage in the 64th minute through who else but senior All-American forward Paul Roger Henschke. The sequence began with a short Perez Cortez free kick right at midfield, and continued with a nice organization down the left flank. Sixth-year senior outside back Christian Miramontes was sent flying down that wing before sending an inch-perfect left-footed cross into the middle. Henschke nodded it into the right side from inside of six yards. It was Henschke's team-leading ninth goal of 2023. His 26 total points (league-best eight assists) are second in the league. Again, Miramontes was not given an assist on the play.

Henschke now has 28 goals, 16 assists and 72 total points for his career. The native of Berlin, Germany, stands alone in fourth in the CPP record book in both goals and points, and is seventh in assists. He is also tied for seventh with six collegiate game-winners, two of them this year.

The Yotes finally pulled one back to avoid the shutout thanks to Nicklaus Sullivan just 12 seconds from the end, but it was far too late. It came from a steal and counterattack, with CPP goalkeeper CJ Walker actually saving Sullivan's first effort. The junior gathered the rebound and provided his fifth to tie for the team lead in goals.

Walker collected a pair of saves in his sixth start in a row. Fellow senior John Samano made one stop for the Yotes. The home side actually held a narrow edge in shots, 14-13, and took seven corner kicks to just a season-low one by the Broncos.

CPP also won by a one-goal margin over the Yotes to conclude the non-conference schedule, 1-0 at home on Sept. 23 courtesy of a Henschke strike just 79 seconds in. Sullivan saw a red card late in that one.

Regardless of how things go in Arcata next week, the Broncos are in good shape for an eighth straight trip to the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship. Wednesday's edition of the official NCAA regional rankings had CPP at No. 3 out of 12 teams currently under consideration for 10 spots from Super Region 4.

Bronco Bits: Cal Poly Pomona is 49-14-17 (.719) overall and 32-4-9 (.811) in CCAA play under fifth-year (fourth season) head coach Matt O'Sullivan ... The Broncos are a still-unbeaten 7-0-2 on their travels in 2023 ... CJ Walker's start was his 23rd in the green and gold ... Freshman Arni Sigursteinsson earned his first collegiate start, and junior Mike Moser his fourth on the year ... Walker and center back Fin Jackson played the full 90 minutes ... Of CPP's 17 games in 2023, it has scored first in 14 (shut out twice) ... Woody Angell opened the scoring for the second straight contest, having tallied in the 31st minute of last Sunday's 2-0 home win over Cal State San Marcos ... The Broncos are the CCAA's top scoring offense, now at 44 goals over 17 matches (2.59 per game) ... The only other time this season that CPP was outshot was in a 3-1 win at Cal State Monterey Bay (15-11) on Oct. 22 ... CPP is 26-27-11 against CSUSB all-time in this series that goes back to 1984, including 10-15-3 in San Bernardino ... The Broncos are 5-1-1 against the Yotes under O'Sullivan (1-0-1 on the road) ... They are an unbeaten 4-0-1 against CSUSB over the last five matchups since a 1-0 loss in Pomona in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Championship (Nov. 23, 2019) ... The Broncos moved up six spots in Tuesday's latest United Soccer Coaches Division II national poll, to a season-high No. 5 ... CPP is 64-21-15 as a nationally-ranked program since 2002, including 26-8-14 under O'Sullivan and 12-1-4 in 2023.

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Home matches and CCAA away contests stream live online via the CCAA Network at www.ccaanetwork.com. Fans can also download the CCAA Network app on an iOS or Android smartphone or tablet, and through web streaming devices such as Amazon Fire, Roku and Apple TV. Subscribers have access to all CCAA broadcasts, both live and on-demand, for the low monthly price of $9.95. Over half of each monthly subscription purchase goes directly back to the CCAA athletics department of your choice to support the student-athlete experience. Sign-ups are available right now at each university's network portal. Just go to CCAAnetwork.com, select your favorite team at the top and click the 'Subscribe' button.

Tickets are on sale now for all CPP home matches. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets online prior to coming to campus at broncoathletics.com/tickets, or by downloading the HomeTown Fan app on your smartphone or tablet. Again this year, only debit and credit cards will be accepted at the box office for admission. Limited concession items will be on sale on-site as well, with the concession stand also only accepting debit and credit cards.

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