POMONA, CALIF. - On Sunday, October 30th, the Sonoma State men's soccer team pulled off a thrilling upset over the 13th ranked Broncos of Cal Poly Pomona who represented the #3 seed in the CCAA Tournament, advancing 7-6 on penalties and behind a heroic save from sophomore keeper
Reinier ter Riet! ter Riet would unanimously go down as man of the match for the Seawolves as he recorded a career high 12 saves with several acrobatic and reaction saves to keep SSU in the game and force overtime. Despite the 12-3 shot advantage in the first half, Sonoma State did create some dangerous chances with shots on goal from freshman
Michael Gray and senior midfielder
Bryan Rosales. However, head coach
Marcus Ziemer and his squad would find themselves defending for much of the second half as they continued to fight and make it tough on the 13th ranked Broncos.
"Pomona is a very good team with relentless pressure. Our entire team did well to defend as a group and keep ourselves in it for as long as possible. Rei was huge today and gave us a chance with some massive saves as he helped force overtime and ultimately a penalty shootout" (Ziemer).
The stellar goalkeeping from ter Riet would start midway through the first half as both teams settled in after the opening whistle. With just under 20 minutes to go, a tough penalty call would give the Broncos a PK and a chance to get on the scoreboard first. After setting up for the attempt, the Broncos forward would hit a mid-height shot to the keeper's right, but ter Riet would pounce off the line without hesitation and make a fantastic diving save and push the ball well out to the right, keeping the game scoreless after the first half.
The second half saw several more offensive chances from the Broncos as the Seawolves continued to defend collectively and look to attack in transition and on the counter. ter Riet would come up with another clutch pair of saves just under 15-minutes into the second half. Attack from the left wing for CPP would result in a low cross towards the penalty spot that found the foot of a wide open Bronco forward. After taking a touch he would let a left-footed shot go that ter Riet would take right off the chest and then a follow-up shot from a trailing player at the top of the box would result in a kick save before a third shot would miss the frame and end the threat.
Another couple routine but crucial catches and punches would see out the rest of the half, as both Cal Poly Pomona and Sonoma State would play in their first overtime match of the season in the biggest situation. 10 combined shots for the Broncos would come up empty as the Seawolves defense minimized threats once again and would collectively defend to force a penalty shootout after 110 minutes of action.
After both teams would meet and strategize, they would lineup at midfield and see their postseason fate come down to a series of shots from just 12 yards away. SSU would have the honors and lead things off as captain
Sean Rohane would step up and hammer his attempt into the upper right half of the net. The Broncos would equalize and then second year player
Miles Hodgson would slot his shot in the upper left hand corner to take a 2-1 lead. Pomona would repeat and convert their second attempt to once again tie things up at two a piece. Next for the Seawolves was senior center back
Matt Walleigh. With a falling start, Walleigh would whip a ball into the top left corner and emphatically retake the lead.
The next two penalty takers, one for the Broncos and one for the Seawolves, would each miss the frame, adding some drama to the shootout but ultimately leaving both teams in the same situation. After Pomona tied it up at three, first year midfielder
Jose Rios Lara would sneak one past the keeper in the bottom left corner to maintain the team's one goal advantage. After another answer from the Broncos center back
Federico Barbieri would slot a beautiful low penalty into the right side-netting to give SSU a 5-4 advantage. Knotted at five, freshman
Patrick Neill would step through one and narrowly sneak it into the left corner as the Seawolves once again took a breath with a now 6-5 lead. At this point, a save from ter Riet or a converted penalty from the Broncos could give either team the win.
Sophomore utility player
Lucas English would step up as the team's 8th penalty taker and once again make a fantastic shot into the side netting of the right corner. The Seawolves, getting louder and louder, could feel the win with ter Riet about to face his 8th penalty and having already saved one earlier in regulation. With everything set, Cal Poly Pomona's penalty taker would hit a quality low shot to the right corner but
Reinier ter Riet would once again leap off the line with a great read and emphatically deflect the ball out to the right and leap in the air in celebration as the rest of his team swarmed him inside the box. The penalty save would allow the Seawolves to advance 7-6 on penalties and send them to the semi-finals of the CCAA Tournament!
Sonoma State pulled off the improbable upset and will move on to take on the tournament's #2 seed and the defending NCAA National Champions, Cal State LA on Friday, November 4th.
"This has been an amazing season. We've had two broken legs, a broken jaw, concussions, but the guys we have just never seem to quit and continue to play hard. Our backs were against the wall last season and again this season and we've always found a way to get results and continue to be resilient. We can't wait for next week's game to take on the defending champs once again. I could not be more proud of this group of guys" (Ziemer).
An updated tournament bracket, game times, ticket links, and more can all be found at sonomaseawolves.com. Sonoma State advances to the semi-finals of the conference tournament and defeat the Broncos for the first time since 2016. Sonoma State improves to 7-7-5 overall and will look to keep their postseason hopes alive against Cal State LA next week. Be sure to follow your Seawolves on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get all the latest SSU athletics updates and information. Sonoma State athletics also has launched a new fan app in partnership with From Now On. Download the free app today in both the Apple and Google Play stores by searching Sonoma State Seawolves in the app store. @SonomaSeawolves | #NomaNation
