BOX SCORE


BOX SCORE


SEASIDE, Calif. — The difference between an established program and one on the rise was the difference between a win and a loss Friday afternoon as No. 7 (NSCAA West Region) Cal Poly Pomona hung on for dear life to outlast Cal State Monterey Bay 4–2 at the Otter Sports Complex.

Pomona (7–3–1, 6–2–1 CCAA) twice built two–goal leads only to see CSUMB (4–5–1, 4–4–1) storm back. But the Otters couldn't net the equalizer before Cal Poly's Jonathan Enns' spectacular individual effort sealed the game 22 seconds from full time.

“I thought today's game was another step in the right direction. Each game presents different learning tools and today we showed a lot of character battling back not once but twice to pull within one goal,” said CSUMB Head Coach Rob Cummings. “Pomona is a good team with a coach that knows how to win.”

Friday match feature three former assistant coaches from Division II power Midwestern State (Texas) University in Cummings, Otter assistant Dave Stockton and Cal Poly head man Lance Thompson, so it was little surprise that both teams came in well prepared and with seemingly good knowledge of what to expect from its opponent. And the game played evenly through the first hour until Juan Mejia tucked a free kick from the edge of the penalty area inside the right post to give the Broncos a 1–0 lead.

Less than three minutes later, Luis Gonzalez and Fabian Perez worked a pretty two–on–one counter after an Otter turnover in midfield, with Gonzalez slipping a crisp pass to Perez for a neat finish and a 2–0 lead.

The game was anything but over, however, as CSUMB stepped up the offensive pressure. The Otters finally broke through in the 77th minute when Beau Villanueva (Turlock/Pitman HS) and Max Brixey (Truckee HS) worked some magic in tight quarters, somehow finding each other's feet in the middle of a crowded penalty area where Brixey roofed his third goal of the season to cut the lead in half.

With the Otters sustaining pressure after the goal, Pomona gave itself some breathing room on the counter when Gonzalez played a long through ball to Enns who raced in ahead of the Otter backline to restore the two–goal Bronco advantage in the 80th minute.

But there was still life left in the Otters. This time Brixey played setup man, slipping a short through ball to Servando Perez (Guadalupe/Hancock JC) at the top of the box for Perez to drive home his third goal of the season with six minutes remaining. That was a close as the Otters would get, however, before Enns drove the final nail into the coffin in the waning seconds.

“Stats don't lie and looking you can tell that we didn't play on our heals,” said Cummings. “We came out to challenge and unfortunately we came out on the wrong end of the score. However, what I told the guy's after the game was that Sunday at East Bay will show what kind of character we have coming off a tough loss like this.”

The Otters head to Hayward to face Cal State East Bay Sunday afternoon. They return home for an important CCAA North Division showdown with Sonoma State Friday, Oct. 14, at 3 p.m.



Cal Poly Pomona 4, Cal St. Monterey Bay 2

Goals by period       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Cal Poly Pomona.....  0  4 -  4
Cal St. Monterey Bay  0  2 -  2

SCORING SUMMARY:
  1.  66:28 CPP Juan Mejia (1) (unassisted) - free kick from top of box
  2.  69:16 CPP Fabian Perez (3) (Luis Gonzalez) - 2 v 1 on counter
  3.  76:42 CSUMB Max Brixey (3) (Beau Villanueva) - quick 1-2 middle of box
  4.  79:32 CPP Jonathan Enns (3) (Luis Gonzalez) - long thru ball on counter
  5.  84:00 CSUMB Servando Perez (3) (Max Brixey) - short thru ball beat GK 1v1
  6.  89:38 CPP Jonathan Enns (4) (Sam Moralez) - dances in the box

Shots: Cal Poly Pomona 18, Cal St. Monterey Bay 15
Saves: Cal Poly Pomona 6 (Kris Minton 5; TEAM 1), Cal St. Monterey Bay 5 (Cory Calder 4; TEAM 1)