California Baptist University
George Washington
HATS OFF
10/2/2008 7:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
RIVERSIDE, Calif. ? California Baptist might need to invest in some new nets as Aaron Steiger set the goals on fire scoring nine goals in a pair of wins over George Washington, 12-8, and Iona, 13-8.
Steiger scored four against the Colonials and five against the Gaels and netted seven of the nine goals in the second half. Steiger also recorded six steals on the day.
“He posted up real well at two-meters and we found him on some 6-on-5 plays,” said CBU head coach Rick Rowland. “He was well rested in the second half against Iona after getting two majors pretty quick. He came out ready to play.”
The win gave the Lancers (18-6) their third straight and pushed their home winning streak to 20 straight at the Lancer Aquatics Center.
Chris Morgan also netted a hat trick in the win over GWU and added three assists and pair of steals and capped off the night with a two assists to stretch the school's all-time assists record to 143.
“It's nice to see a lefty get those assists,” said Rowland. “He's usually looking at four to five righties all the time. He spots the guys well and when they catch and shoot he can make them look awfully good.”
The Lancers didn't waste much time in the opening minutes scoring three goals in just over three minutes. Morgan put CBU up 1-0 in the first minute before Brent Troutman and Steiger added two goals just nine seconds apart.
The Colonials answered back with a pair of goals to make it 3-2, but Chris Toy gave the Lancers a 4-2 lead with 1:40 left in the quarter. GWU answered again to make it 4-3 at the end of the first.
CBU opened the second quarter the same way they started the first with three straight goals. After Morgan netted a penalty shot, Alan Ogden and Jeff Woolstenhulme scored to give the Lancers a 7-3 lead. Ogden then gave the Lancers an 8-4 lead at the half with his second goal of the game.
After six different Lancers scored goals in the first half, it became the Morgan and Steiger show in the second. Steiger scored the only CBU goal in the third to give the Lancers a 9-5 lead heading into the fourth and then made it 10-6 just a few minutes in.
GWU cut it to 10-8 with consecutive goals, but Steiger and Morgan closed it out with back-to-back goals to seal CBU's fifth straight win over the Colonials.
Zach Bowman came up with nine saves in the win.
Against the Gaels, the Lancers didn't pull away until early in the fourth quarter. The Lancers led by just two (4-2) at the half and led 4-3 early in the third. CBU tried to distance itself late in the third with a pair of goals from Steiger and headed into the fourth with an 8-5 lead. Iona answered with a 6-on-5 goal early in the fourth to cut it to 8-6 before CBU used a 5-0 run to seal it.
Peter Hines scored a hat trick in the game while Ogden also added a pair of goals.
The Lancers also were 7-for-12 on 6-on-5 opportunities including 5-for-7 against Iona.
“We had the right guys in at the right time and we had good ball movement,” said Rowland. “Sometimes guys have tendencies to have a quick pass and a shot. We found open guys and got 2-on-1 opportunities and put it away. That was the key.”
The Lancers will now play at the Claremont Convergence Friday and Saturday before returning back home, Oct. 11, when they host Claremont Mudd-Scripps.
