POMONA, Calif. – A furious offensive push by the Montana State University Billings men's soccer team that ate up the majority of the second half did not yield a late equalizer, as the Yellowjackets fell just short in a 1-0 loss at No. 4 Cal Poly Pomona Thursday evening at Kellogg Field.
 
Eight of MSUB's 10 shots in the match came in the final 30 minutes, and six of them were either on target and saved or blocked by the Broncos' defense. The effort of CPP goalkeeper Jason Trejos kept his team's lead intact, and the host used a goal by Dante Medina just after the halftime break to take command.
 
"I am very proud of how we played tonight against last year's national runner-up," said MSUB head coach Alex Balog. "It was a two-phase game, with the first half going to them and the second half being ours. It took us awhile to get going, especially in the middle of the field, but it was a pretty even matchup tactically."
 
The Yellowjackets dropped to 0-1 after their 2016 season opener, while CPP, last year's NCAA Division II national runner-up, started its campaign 1-0 with the win.
 
The Broncos held control of the pace of play early on in the match, and were the first to pressure offensively. Freeing himself some space at the top of the box 22 minutes into the match, Jesus Tamayo blasted a right-

footed shot towards the upper-left corner of the goal. MSUB keeper Tom Lohmann leapt up and knocked the on-target attempt away, falling into his own net as he prevented the host from gaining an early lead.
 
It was the second of six unanswered shots by the Broncos, as the Yellowjackets did not manage an attempt in the opening 45 minutes. After a foul by the 'Jackets in the 38th minute, a dangerous shot by Adi Azran was deflected away from goal by the protective wall. 

Though the teams headed to the halftime break scoreless, CPP had clear momentum in the opening period. That translated into the first – and only – breakthrough of the match, as Medina struck with a goal on an assist by Hussein Heidari immediately after the opening whistle of the second half.
 
The home team nearly doubled its lead in the 52nd minute, when Luis Najera Jr. found himself alone with only Lohmann to beat. The Yellowjacket keeper charged at his attacker however, sliding and knocking away a would-be second goal.

The near-miss ended up being the final shot of the match for CPP, as momentum shifted drastically into the Yellowjackets' favor. Rhys Lambert took the first of his two shots midway through the second, as his miss high signaled the visitors would be knocking on the door of scoring the rest of the match.
 
Part of MSUB's big push was winning five corner kicks while allowing none in the closing 45 minutes, as Flavio Colasanti provided strong service into the box regularly down the stretch.
 
The 'Jackets created rhythm offensively with 15 minutes to play, moving the ball effectively along the left side of the field. A combination of five passes resulted in a run by Colasanti into the box, but his angle towards goal was too tight and his shot missed high over the bar.
 
MSUB kept on the attack, with another speedy push inside the box after a corner kick. This time, Colasanti got his foot on a rebound at the top of the box, and it took a fully-extended save from Trejos to deflect it off of the right post. The attempt off the post in the 78th minute wound up being the closest MSUB came to scoring, though Oliver Posarelli had two shots on frame and Thiago Novis added another in the final dozen minutes of play.
 
"We had a couple of great chances in the second half, but unfortunately we didn't put them away," said Balog. "I was glad to see that with the players we had coming off of the bench, the level on the field went up."
 
Posarelli, Julian Toenges, and Ricardo Palomino were the three field players to play the full 90 minutes for the Yellowjackets, and Garret Robinson and Eli Williams each started and contributed significantly on the defensive end. Palomino had one shot in the match.
 
THE BUZZ: Lohmann was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the game…each team had four shots on target…MSUB won the only other meeting between the teams, 2-0 in 2009.
 
"We are a little frustrated because we felt we should have had at least a draw, but at the same time this is going to give us a lot of confidence and a sense of belief going into our game against San Bernardino on Saturday," said Balog. "We have to make sure we start the game Saturday the right way and get after it right away."
 
NEXT UP: MSUB continues its season-opening trip to California, heading east to take on Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday. Match time is set for 5 p.m. Mountain time between the Coyotes and Yellowjackets.