California Baptist University
University of Southern California
A Step In The Right Direction
9/8/2012 8:12:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
LOS ANGELES, Calif. --- California Baptist University men's water polo travelled to the University of Southern California Saturday to take on the four-time defending national champion Trojans.
The No. 17 Lancers entered the game as an underdog against No. 1 USC, and ended up losing 13-4.
"We kept the number one team in the country to 13 goals," said head coach Rick Rowland. "Last week they were putting up 20 or more goals on teams at the UCLA invitational, we did pretty good."
CBU's defense and goaltending is what kept them in the game through three quarters. The Lancers ended with 13 steals and they held USC to only three goals in eight 6-on-5 opportunities.
"We were able to keep them from transitioning well, and we played great 6-on-5 defense, we kept them under 50 percent," said Rowland.
Austen Ramer played well in the goal for CBU, picking up nine saves and five steals. He held USC to a 62 percent shooting percentage and their 13 goals scored is 8.7 below their single-game average entering the day.
"Ramer came up big in the goal," said Rowland. "He kept the game within reach."
USC began the game with two quick goals, until the Lancers countered with a goal from Keith Jizmejian to make it 2-1. After another USC goal, the first quarter ended with the score 3-1.
CBU got a goal from Scott Gleason in the second quarter, but was again outscored 3-1 in the quarter, making it 6-2 at the half.
After two more goals from Gleason, the Lancers were able to keep the game close at 8-4 for most of the third quarter, until a USC run ended the game and sealed the 13-4 loss.
"Gleason led the team offensively with some pretty nice goals," said Rowland. "It was tough because USC was playing physical defense that made it difficult for us to move the ball."
A positive for CBU was their ability to score on 50 percent of their 6-on-5 chances, going 1-2. This was a focal point in preparation for this game, after only being able to convert 3-20 6-on-5 chances in two games last weekend.
David Rodriguez and Kellan Falconieri were the statistical MVPs for the Lancers, after putting in strong defensive performances.
In preparation for their next matches, Rowland and the team are looking to improve on their transition releases and get a more mobile frontcourt offense, so that they can perform better under defensive pressure.
CBU takes on Cal Lutheran and Chapman next week at the Posada Royale tournament in Thousand Oaks, Calif. They face Cal Lutheran Sat., Sept. 15 at 12 p.m., and later that day they take on Chapman at 3 p.m.
"We need to just play our game, and then we can begin to execute some wins," said Rowland. "These were some tough games, but they taught us what we need to work on moving forward, it was a step in the right direction."
