California Baptist University
Concordia
PETRA-FIED EAGLES
1/24/2010 2:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
"This was a good two games to get our feet wet and shake the rust off," said head coach Jacob Medina.
Wasting no time in the opening game of the season, the Lancers rattled off three unanswered goals in the first quarter to take an early lead. Less than one minute into the second quarter, CBU added to its lead, going up 4-0 over the CSUSB before the Coyotes answered with a score of their own. After swapping goals over the following five minutes, the Lancers took a 6-2 advantage into halftime.
In the midst of a quarter that saw seven exclusions and a 5-meter penalty, the Lancers added one more goal to their total, taking a 7-2 lead by the end of the third period. The Coyotes attempted a comeback late in the fourth quarter, but in the end, the Lancer offense proved too much, and CBU ran away with the win.
Jennifer Grutz tallied five scores in the game, while Petra Kovacs was also a force to be reckoned with in the win, as she tallied two goals, four assists, and five steals.
Then, in the Lancers' second game of the day, they once again wasted no time getting their quick-firing offense rolling. The Lancers scored early and often in the first half, though the Eagles proved hard to shake. After swapping goals through the second quarter, the Lancers only held a two-goal edge, 5-3, at the break.
After the half, the Lancers continued to stretch their lead, going up by six, 9-3, halfway through the third period. Though the Eagles cut the lead back to four at the end of the third quarter, the Lancers stretched their lead back to as many as six on two occasions in the fourth quarter to shut the door on Concordia.
The story of the day was Lancer newcomer Kovacs, who had a hat trick in the fourth quarter, to go along with the three goals she had across the first three quarters, totaling six for the game, and bringing her CBU Mini tally to eight. Senior Collette Brown also recorded a hat trick in the win.
"Petra [Kovacs] definitely stepped up and put some goals away," said Medina.
The Lancers will be back in the pool on Friday to kick off the first Lancer Invite of the season. CBU will face off against Fresno Pacific at 9:15 a.m., then take on Cal State Bakersfield at 3:30 p.m. at the Lancer Aquatics Center.
