Cal Poly Pomona Pittsburgh-Bound After Advancing to NCAA Semifinals
Originally posted on broncoathletics.com
AZUSA, Calif. -- Cyro Oliveira scored with a minute left before halftime and Eduardo Faria added another goal a minute into the second half as the Cal Poly Pomona men's soccer team continues its incredible run through the postseason with a dominating 2-0 victory over No. 13 West Texas A&M in the 2018 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship quarterfinal Saturday night in Azusa.
The Broncos, who have posted four straight shutouts against four of the top scoring offenses in the nation, improve to 17-6 and will play in the national semifinals on November 29th in Pittsburgh, Pa. The time and opponent have yet to be determined, the NCAA will reseed and release the updated bracket Sunday evening.
The Buffs, the South Central Region champions, see their season come to an end at 17-3-3.
Cal Poly Pomona has outscored its four playoff opponents, 7-0, and Faria has scored or assisted on goals in all four postseason contests.
Two other teams have punched their ticket to Pittsburgh after wins on Saturday -- No. 23 West Chester (15-2-5), the Atlantic Region champion, defeated Adelphi 2-0 to advance to the Final Four for the first time in program history, and No. 11 Fort Hays State (17-2-1), the Central Region champions, knocked off Ohio Valley 2-0 to also advance to the Final Four for the first time in program history. In comparison, this will be Cal Poly Pomona's third trip to the Final Four in the past four seasons.
One spot in the Final Four is left to be decided -- South Region champion and No. 20-ranked Barry (14-4-2) will take on Southeast Region champion and No. 8-ranked Lander (11-4-2) on Sunday at 1:00 pm Eastern Time to decide who will join West Chester, Fort Hays State and Cal Poly Pomona in Pittsburgh.
The Broncos are the only team out of the five teams left standing that have appeared in a National Championship match since 2001; CPP reached the title match in 2015 where it fell to Pfeiffer, 4-0. Barry last appeared in the National Championship in 2000 when it lost to fellow CCAA member Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Broncos are also the only unranked team remaining, though CPP was listed as receiving votes in the national poll when the most recent poll was released just prior to the start of the NCAA Tournament.
The Final Four of the 2018 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship will take place at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa. Completed in 2013, Highmark Stadium is the home of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds professional and Under-23 development teams and boasts a seating capacity of 3,500 with additional standing space raising its capacity to about 4,000 for soccer games. It is located at Station Square on Pittsburgh's South Side, overlooking the city's downtown skyline from across the Monongahela River.