SUNBURNED!

Friday, November 12

Azusa, CA

2 p.m.

California Baptist University

Azusa Pacific University (Calif.)

11/13/2010 2:48:00 AM | Women's Soccer

AZUSA, Calif. --- No. 9 California Baptist University's dreams of an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament were dashed Friday, as the Lancers lost 3-0 to No. 3 Azusa Pacific in the GSAC Tournament finals.

CBU, which currently sits eleventh in the RPI rankings, will have to wait until Sunday when the final RPI rankings and at-large bids are released.

“It just wasn't our day today,” said Head Coach Kristen St. Claire. “It was a hard fought game even though the final score may not reflect how intense it was. I'm proud of the way we fought. Now we just have to move forward, keep working, and wait to see about a first round matchup.”

It took just :54 seconds for the Cougars to jump on top. Heidi Witschi received a cross in the box, dribbling past CBU keeper Katie Rumfola to put Azusa Pacific up 1-0.

Natalie Sun did the rest of the damage for the home team, scoring five minutes before the end of the half and again at the 65:09 mark.

Rumfola made two saves in her 63 minutes played but had to leave the game after a collision with an Azusa Pacific player diving for the ball. Nicoline Jorgensen would come in to finish the game, allowing one goal and making one save.

CBU was able to create the same amount of shots as the Cougars (8-8), but none of the Lancers attempts posed any real threat as Azusa Pacific keeper Alexa Douglas needed just one save to preserve the shutout.

It was just the second time this season and first time in over a month that the Lancers had been held scoreless. The last time CBU was shut out was Oct. 9 at Fresno Pacific, suffereing a 3-0 loss. Since then the Lancers had gone 5-0-2.

CBU and its 13-5-2 record makes a strong case for an at-large bid. The Lancers have wins over seven ranked teams this season, four of them against top 10 teams including one over Azusa Pacific earlier this season.

“We have a good body of work against quality teams this year that will help us,” said St. Claire. “This team bounces back well and I expect them to do just that.”