California Baptist University
Chapman University
Lancers Dominate Day Two
9/22/2012 11:48:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
DAVIS, Calif. --- Following a tough one-goal loss to UC Davis on day one, California Baptist University scored more than enough goals on day two of the 2012 Aggie Shootout, picking up two wins.
The Lancers entered the day ranked No. 18 in the nation, with a record of 2-4. They outscored their opponents, Chapman and Redlands, 28-19 today en route to improving their record to 4-4. In three games at the Aggie Shootout CBU ended going 2-1.
"We played two really strong opponents, they played well," said head coach Rick Rowland. "We had really good games though, having a balanced offense throughout."
Offense was the key throughout the tournament as the Lancers picked up 39 goals in the three games, after scoring just 37 goals in their first five games of the 2012 season.
The scoring was led by two outstanding games from Matt Puig, who picked up seven goals on the day.
"Matt Puig had a two really, really good games for us today from the two-meter position," said Rowland. In addition to his seven goals, Puig picked up four drawn ejections.
CBU showed off a diverse scoring attack as 11 different Lancers scored a goal, including goaltender Austen Ramer.
The Lancers also improved on their scoring percentage in 6-on-5 situations, something they have struggled with early on this year. They scored on six of 10 chances in game one and four of five chances in game two.
The first game of the day was against Chapman, it was a hard fought close game, similar to Friday's game against UC Davis, CBU managed to squeak out a 12-9 win.
This game was tied at five at halftime, but the Lancers pulled away in the third quarter moving ahead 8-7. They continued to pull ahead in the fourth, until late in the fourth it seemed as if they would walk away with an 11-9 victory. Until with :02 remaining Ramer was able to score, just the second goal of his career, wrapping up the 12-9 win.
Puig and Scott Gleason led the Lancers with three goals in the game against Chapman, and Ramer picked up nine saves and six steals, playing the whole game for the Lancers.
The second game, against Redlands, was not as close of a game, thanks in large part to a huge second quarter, where CBU outscored Redlands 6-2.
This put them in front 11-6 at halftime and they never looked back, cruising to a 16-10 victory.
Puig again led the scoring for the Lancers with four goals and Robert Nichols added three of his own, his first goals of the season.
"Nichols was up and down the pool all day today," said Rowland. "He was making things happen for us in transition."
Ramer picked up four saves and seven steals, again playing the entire game. He has played every minute for CBU in seven of the first eight games this year.
"We also got some sensational play from freshman David Ring this weekend," said Rowland. "He scored in every game and is really stepping up and providing some huge goals from the center position."
The Lancers are 4-1 in their last five games and look to ride this momentum into the Lancer Invite next weekend, the first home games of the season. Play opens at noon on Friday, Sept. 28. CBU is set to face Occidental, Concordia, La Verne and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at the two-day tournament.
