California Baptist University
La Verne
Picture Perfect Ending
9/30/2012 3:15:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
RIVERSIDE, Calif. --- After a nerve-racking final game, California Baptist University men's water polo ended up finishing the the 2012 Lancer Invite with a perfect 4-0 record.
The Lancers defeated the University of La Verne and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on the final day of the tournament to finish as the only team with an unblemished record.
In their first game of the day CBU faced La Verne, and defeated them 22-10.
"We played every player on our team today against La Verne, I think we played a superb game," said head coach Rick Rowland.
The first two quarters made the difference in this game, as the Lancers outscored the Leopards 13-4 in the first half. Austen Ramer had eight saves in this half, before being replaced by Dylan Vrooman.
The offensive onslaught was led by Scott Gleason and Keith Jizmejian, each with three goals in the first half and four goals in the game. Matt Puig also had three goals in this game.
Despite these high individual totals, it was a team effort as nine other Lancers put the ball in the back of the cage.
After a win in the first game that was never in doubt, CBU's second game was a little bit of a surprise to most, not to Rowland.
"They were a feisty bunch, they were really creative with their movement and they matchup really well with us," said Rowland. "Every year we have a one-goal game with them, they are very well coached."
The Lancers 11-10 overtime victory was a nail-biter from the very start as neither team ever had more than a two-goal lead and the teams were tied nine different times, including at the end of regulation.
The reason the game was so close was due to some excellent goaltending by both sides, CMS' goalie had 18 saves and Ramer had 11, and some missed opportunities by the Lancers, who were one out of six on 6-on-5 chances.
"We were a little off, we had a lot of missed shots," said Rowland. "It was a really low shooting percentage game for us."
Despite the missed shots, the Lancers were eventually able to scratch out the victory after a goal from David Ring with :19 remaining in the first overtime period.
"I am proud of the guys for rallying back," said Rowland. "Ring got a nice look from two-meters and scored a big natural goal. This guy is a freshman with a very bright future ahead of him."
Ring had one goal, while Jizmejian led CBU with four, Gleason had three and David Rodriguez, Scott Butler and Matt Puig each had one.
The Lancers improved their record to 8-4 on the season after battling to a 4-0 mark at the Lancer Invite. Concordia and Riverside City College were the next best teams at the invite finishing 3-1.
No. 18 CBU will host Iona and Fordham later this week on Oct. 4. The Iona game begins at 3 p.m. and the Fordham game at 7:30 p.m., following a ceremony commemorating the new lights at the Lancer Aquatic Center.
