HAYWARD, Calif. - In a thrilling CCAA Men's Soccer Tournament semifinal, Cal State East Bay's spirited second-half rally wasn't enough to overcome Cal Poly Pomona, as the Pioneers fell 3-2 at Pioneer Stadium on Friday evening.
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MATCH SUMMARY |
The Broncos came out strong, building a commanding 3-0 lead in the first half. Sam Lena opened the scoring in the 8th minute, followed by Jasper Winslow's goal in the 26th minute. Jakob Singh extended the lead to three just before halftime.
However, the Pioneers showed remarkable resilience in the second half. Julian Valle ignited the comeback with a goal in the 65th minute, assisted by Drew Gibbons. Valle struck again in the 74th minute, this time set up by Aaron Farnan, to bring East Bay within striking distance at 3-2.
Despite a flurry of late chances, including outshooting the Broncos 12-5 in the second half, the Pioneers couldn't find the equalizer.
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NOTABLE STATS |
- Julian Valle led the Pioneers' offense with two goals on three shots.
- Drew Gibbons and Aaron Farnan each contributed an assist.
- East Bay Goalkeeper Adan Corona made four saves in the losing effort.
- For Cal Poly Pomona, Mads Frederiksen was instrumental with two assists, while Sam Lena contributed a goal and an assist.
- Cal State East Bay outshot Cal Poly Pomona 15-14 overall, including a 12-5 advantage in the second half.
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POSTGAME QUOTE |
Cal State East Bay head coach Mike Haswell following Friday's loss in the CCAA Tournament semifinals:
"I think we started slow and against a team like Pomona you just can't start slow. But proud of the guys to fight back, come back into it, to get the two goals and to have shots to get the tying goal to send it into overtime, I think the second half, so proud of these guys to come back and fight and give us a shot to be competitive in that match."
Drew Gibbons talking about how the team progressed and how it showed on Friday's match:
"Yeah, just kind of sums up our year, just resilience. You know this team's been through a lot. Started the year slow, bunch of new pieces coming in. That's kind of been our mantra is just sticking with it. We knew if we could get one back that was the idea at halftime to get one and then we knew we were back in it. Grab that second and think 12 to 15 minutes to play. You felt the momentum you thought we were gonna get a third and go on and win it but it just didn't fall our way today, but proud of the boys."
Julian Valle about the program's growth after appearing in the CCAA Tournament for the first time:
"I mean it's growing because honestly we have such wonderful coaching staff and they are leading us in the right direction. Everybody showing up to training, everybody's buying into what we're trying to achieve. Obviously at the beginning of the season we set out the goal to just qualify for playoffs. Obviously, that was the number one goal. When we hit that goal, everybody was happy, but we all knew we wanted more and we were capable of much more and with that you saw the result against Chico State. Even in today, we felt like we could've had something today."
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WRAP UP |
The loss likely concludes Cal State East Bay's season with a 6-8-5 record, marking significant progress in head coach Mike Haswell's second year. The Pioneers' appearance in the CCAA Tournament semifinal showcases the program's growth and sets a promising foundation for the future.
Cal Poly Pomona advances to the CCAA Tournament Championship match on Sunday, looking to add to their impressive 13-1-6 record.
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