California Baptist University
Vanguard University (Calif.)
88-MINUTE MADNESS
10/6/2010 1:12:00 AM | Men's Soccer
RIVERSIDE, Calif. --- California Baptist University took a giant leap Tuesday afternoon.
To the
top of the Golden State Athletic Conference table.
And it did it in what might be the biggest game of the conference season between two top 10 teams.
Jonathan Garcia scored the game's only goal 2:07 after the initial whistle, and the seventh-ranked Lancers burned off the remaining 87:53 in dismantling fifth-ranked Vanguard, 1-0, to claim sole possession of first place in the GSAC for the first time ever.
The Lancers (10-1, 4-0 GSAC) extend their program-record winning streak to eight straight and move ahead of the Lions (8-1-1, 3-1) and idle Fresno Pacific and into first place. It is the Lancers' third win this year against a nationally-ranked team after having just two in the previous 25 years, and both of those have come in the past two years.
"This win is massive for us," said Tyler Mitchell, who worked with his fellow defenders to limit Vanguard, one of the NAIA's most efficient offenses, to just seven shots. "We've been training hard all year, so we're ready for anything that comes at us."
And they had to weather nearly 88 minutes of a one-goal advantage against a team that averages 3.67 goals per game, the ninth-best mark in the nation.
The Lancers got an early advantage when, on the second of two corner kicks, Garcia found the back of the net after his first shot from the top of the area was blocked by a Lion defender. The initial blocked shot came right back to Garcia, who then ripped a second shot that went past Lion keeper Trevor Herrera and inside the right post.
It was Garcia's fourth goal of the campaign, and it came before most of the crowd of nearly 175 were even at the pitch.
"You always like to score early but when that happens you have this feeling that it's not really a 1-0 lead," said Mitchell. "Anything can happen, especially against a good team like this. We did a good job, though, of locking things down in the midfield and in the back. You can't just sit in. You still have to play."
The Lancers did anything but sit in as they out-shot the Lions by a remarkable 22-7 advantage, including a 15-5 margin in the second half. Herrera ended with seven saves, including a handful from point-blank range, to keep the margin at just one goal.
Meanwhile, on the other end, Jeff Redinger needed to make just two saves for his third shutout of the season. It was his 11th career clean sheet, which ties the program career record held by Brad Miller (1996-99). The Lancer defense has now kept the opponent out of the back of the net for 352 consecutive minutes dating back to the GSAC opener when Westmont scored in the eighth minute.
It was the first time this year Vanguard has been shutout.
"The collective attitude, spirit and heart to compete in a game like this were terrific," said CBU Head Coach Ryan Jorden. "A lot of that comes from what they have to face in training every single day. Not everyone played today, but every guy on this roster, one through 25, had a massive influence on why we were able to grind out this result. It only happens because of the effort they put in day in and day out.
"We were pretty intelligent for the most part, and this was one more step down the road, but it's a long way from being a great performance. We had to work through some things and weather through a response from a quality team. I was proud the way we did that. We can do things better to be more efficient in managing that type of situation, but it was a good, hard-working performance."
