ARCATA, Calif. - A pair of second-half goals by Jaclyn Cuevas lifted Cal Poly Pomona to a 2-0 upset over previously-unbeaten and 21st-ranked Cal Poly Humboldt in the women's soccer sides' 2023 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) opener at College Creek Field on Friday afternoon.

With the victory, CPP improves to 3-2-2 overall and 1-0 in the CCAA. Humboldt, which is currently rated No. 3 in the West Region, falls to 6-1-1 overall and 0-1 in league play. Friday marked the Lumberjacks' second-to-last contest of their season-long seven-match home stand, now at 4-1-1. They had won three in a row coming in, all via shutout.

The result meant Cal Poly Pomona's second triumph over a nationally-ranked foe under eighth-year head coach Jay Mason, the other coming back on Oct. 8, 2017, in his second season, 1-0 in double overtime at home over No. 16 Sonoma State.

CPP started the day with a pair of headers off of right-sided corner kicks, first by Marisa Salazar in just the second minute, and then by Julia Lucero in the fifth. The attempts were caught by Humboldt goalie Carson Thomson-Terrel and went wide to the left, respectively.

The Broncos threatened again just before the halftime whistle. Cuevas pounced on an errant pass following a Humboldt throw-in, dribbled into the penalty area while cutting one defender with her left foot, and whipped a right-footed shot from the right diagonal that unfortunately only found the side netting.

The second half began with a goal, and it came from Cal Poly Pomona within about 48 seconds of the restart. The visitors earned a corner kick from the right after a right-sided cross attempt by Tara Oper was headed over the end line by a Humboldt defender. Oper took the kick and lofted it over to the far edge of the six-yard box. There, Melanie Harradine got a first-touch foot to it, and a third true junior forward, Cuevas, was in the right place at the right time to tap in to the bottom right corner from close range ahead of Thomson-Terrel's reaction.

The goal, which went down officially at the 46:40 mark, was Cuevas' team-best fifth of 2023. Harradine was the lone Bronco to gain credit for an assist, notching her first point on the season. The host Lumberjacks' lengthy shutout streak thus was also snapped at 452:38.

The Broncos doubled their lead at 69:37. On the heels of another right-sided Oper corner kick, the match official spotted a hand ball in the 18-yard box and pointed immediately to the penalty spot. Cuevas stepped up to take the kick and despite Thomson-Terrel guessing and diving the right way, buried her attempt into the bottom left corner to give her a league-best six on the year with a second two-goal brace.

CPP nearly made it 3-0 in the 84th, taking advantage of a defensive miscue after a long ball from its own half. Georgia Rink ran onto it and unleashed about a 30-yard shot that went wide of the left post.

There was still a tiny bit more drama left in this one as off a right-sided throw-in, Humboldt's top goal-scorer Emilia Long galloped into the Bronco penalty area and was taken down, with the referee pointing to the spot for the second time. The home side did not fare as well as CPP, however, as Bella Hara dove to her right to parry Frida Duran Arellano's right-footed try out for a corner kick and maintain the 2-0 lead.

Hara, a fourth-year junior and first-year Azusa Pacific transfer making her seventh consecutive start between the CPP posts, finished with two late saves, namely the critical penalty-kick stop, for her second clean sheet. The 'Jacks had come in as the CCAA's top offense at 16 goals, with 11 the next closest. Thomson-Terrel, a redshirt sophomore who has begun every game for the 'Jacks, had two saves of her own. CPP held a 10-7 edge in shots and took nine corner kicks to just two for the hosts.

Cal Poly Pomona concludes its weekend road trip to the northern part of the state this Sunday, Oct. 1, heading down to Rohnert Park to face Sonoma State (2-3-2, 0-1 CCAA). Kickoff at Seawolf Soccer Field is slated for 2 p.m., after the men's teams clash at 11:30 a.m.

Bronco Bits: Cal Poly Pomona is 52-44-20 (.534) overall and 31-24-16 (.549) in CCAA play under eighth-year (seventh season) head coach Jay Mason ... The Broncos are 4-3 in CCAA openers with Mason in charge, and 2-1 on the road in 2023 ... Senior Julia Lucero drew a third straight start and fourth as a Bronco ... True freshman Mikaela Marr earned her second successive start, this time in place of Bridget Carbonneau, who came off the bench for the first time after beginning the first six games ... Sophomore Liberty Ortiz was back in the lineup after missing her first game of 2023 last Saturday against Cal State San Bernardino ... Ortiz, Bella Anderson and Bella Hara played the full 90 minutes ... Melanie Harradine's assist was the second of her college career and first since Oct. 14, 2021 ... Jaclyn Cuevas' first brace came in another 2-0 road triumph at Azusa Pacific on Sept. 2 ... CPP is 11-9-1 against Humboldt all-time, snapping a string of two straight losses Friday ... The Broncos are an even 5-5 versus the 'Jacks in Arcata, and 3-4 under Mason (2-2 in Arcata) ... The Broncos are 26-54-13 against nationally-ranked opponents since 1997, and 2-10-4 with Mason in charge ... CPP and Humboldt were favored to place fourth and sixth, respectively, in the CCAA preseason poll ... Friday marked Humboldt's first loss at home since Oct. 24, 2021, as it was 10-0-4 in Arcata since.

---

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.

Follow the Broncos all season long by going to broncoathletics.com/followus and sign up to receive breaking news and final score updates throughout the year.