TURLOCK, Calif.---Emmanuel Duran,
Alfredo Figueroa and
Christian Brenes each scored for Stan State, but Cal Poly Pomona used three first-half goals and a pair of second-half scores to defeat the Warriors 5-3 Thursday afternoon at Warrior Stadium. Stan State took an early 1-0 lead and twice battled back to within one goal before the Broncos scored in the 84th minute to secure the CCAA victory. The Warriors fell to 3-6-5 overall and 1-4-3 in conference play, while Pomona improved to 5-4-5 overall and 3-1-3 in the CCAA.
FIRST HALF
Stan State came out attacking and took a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute when Duran scored his third goal of the season at the 10:17 mark off assists from
Eric Reis and
Adrian Yepez. The goal was Duran's 13th career goal, moving him into a tie for sixth place on the Stan State career goals list.
Cal Poly Pomona responded with several scoring opportunities before tying the match in the 30th minute. Efren Nunez Dominguez scored his second goal of the season at the 29:04 mark off an assist from Jose Garcia to make it 1-1. The Broncos took their first lead in the 40th minute when Ricardo Navarro scored his first goal of the season off an assist from Juan Zaragoza at the 39:41 mark. Just 25 seconds later, Nico Sanchez converted a penalty kick to extend Pomona's advantage to 3-1.
Stan State answered before halftime when Figueroa scored his first goal of the season at the 42:15 mark to cut the deficit to 3-2. Figueroa nearly tied the match two minutes later, but Pomona goalkeeper Jack Chapman made the save to preserve the Broncos' one-goal advantage heading into halftime.
Pomona held an 11-8 advantage in shots during the opening 45 minutes, while both teams placed four attempts on goal.
SECOND HALF
Cal Poly Pomona extended its lead to 4-2 in the 57th minute when Sanchez scored his second goal of the match at the 56:31 mark off an assist from Garcia.
The Warriors answered less than four minutes later when Brenes scored his first goal of the season at the 60:21 mark off an assist from Yepez, pulling Stan State within 4-3. The goal was Brenes' first of the season, while Yepez recorded his second assist of the match.
Stan State continued pressing for the equalizer. Yepez had a shot blocked in the 65th minute before Figueroa forced Chapman into consecutive saves in the 79th and 80th minutes.
The Broncos secured the victory in the 84th minute when Marvin Gamez scored his eighth goal of the season at the 83:53 mark off an assist from Zaragoza to make the final score 5-3. Pomona finished with a 15-12 advantage in shots, while Stan State held a 7-6 edge in shots on goal. The Broncos recorded 11 corner kicks to the Warriors' three.
WARRIOR NOTABLES
- Stan State falls to 3-6-5 overall and 1-4-3 in CCAA play, while Cal Poly Pomona improves to 5-4-5 overall and 3-1-3 in conference action.
- Duran scored his third goal of the season and 13th of his career, moving into a tie for sixth in program history with Jose Velasquez and Manny Villegas. His 30 career points also tie him for sixth in program history with Dennis Wolfe, Jose Velasquez, Tyler Tipton and Adrian Yepez.
- Figueroa scored his first goal of the season and finished with a team-high four shots, all on goal.
- Brenes recorded his first goal of the season and third point of the year.
- Yepez recorded two assists against Cal Poly Pomona, increasing his season total to six and career total to 14. His six assists this season tie him for fifth on Stan State's single-season list with Rafael Chavez (2015), Atsunobu Ishimura (1999) and Gerardo Flores (2025). Yepez also had seven assists in 2025, ranking fourth on the single-season list. His 14 career assists rank third in program history, one behind Nolan Holdridge for second and three behind career leader Samuel Villanueva. His 30 career points tie him for sixth in program history.
- Reis recorded his first assist of the season on Duran's opening goal.
- The Warriors scored three goals for the third time this season.
- Stan State placed seven of its 12 shots on goal for a .583 shot-on-goal percentage.
- Dylan Isasi recorded one save while playing all 90 minutes in goal.
- The Warriors are now 3-2-4 at Warrior Stadium this season.
CCAA STANDINGS
Stan State remains in contention for one of the seven CCAA Tournament berths despite Thursday's setback. The Warriors have six conference points at 1-4-3 with four regular-season matches remaining. Cal Poly Pomona improved to 3-1-3 in CCAA play with 12 points following Thursday's victory, moving six points ahead of Stan State.
The top seven teams in the latest available standings are Cal State LA (22 points), Cal State San Bernardino (18), Menlo (13), Cal State Monterey Bay (12), Cal State San Marcos (12), Cal State Dominguez Hills (12) and Cal Poly Pomona (12). Stan State remains six points behind the current seventh-place points total, with four matches left in the regular season.
The top seven teams advance to the 2026 CCAA Men's Soccer Tournament, with the No. 1 seed receiving a first-round bye into the semifinals. First-round matches will be played Sunday, Nov. 1, at the higher-seeded teams' home sites, with the semifinals Friday, Nov. 6, and the championship match Sunday, Nov. 8, at Kellogg Stadium in Pomona.
UP NEXT
Stan State travels to Atherton on Saturday, Oct. 17, for a 3 p.m. CCAA matchup against Menlo at Wunderlich Field. The Oaks (6-5-2, 4-3-1 CCAA) are coming off a narrow 2-1 home loss to No. 1 nationally ranked Cal State LA on Thursday afternoon. Menlo, whoi is receiving votes nationally, enters Saturday's match with 13 conference points, while Stan State has six. The match will be streamed live on FloCollege, with live statistics also available.
The Warriors remain on the road Thursday, Oct. 22, when they face Chico State at 7 p.m. at University Soccer Stadium in Chico.
Stan State returns to Warrior Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 24, to host Cal Poly Humboldt at 7 p.m. for Senior Night. The Warriors will recognize eight seniors —
Christian Brenes,
Federico Barbieri,
George Riberal,
Gerardo Flores,
Emmanuel Duran,
Sergio Garcia,
Cameron Belandres and
David Lozano — prior to their final regular-season home match.
The Warriors conclude the regular season Thursday, Oct. 29, at Fresno Pacific at 2 p.m. at Ramirez Field in Fresno.
