California Baptist University
Fresno Pacific
Too Little Too Late
9/25/2013 2:42:00 AM | Men's Soccer
FRESNO, Calif. --- It wasn't until California Baptist University was down 3-0 that the Lancers could come together as a team, but by that point, it was a little too late as CBU dropped a 3-0 loss to Fresno Pacific.
"We had some great chances to score, but it all started after we were down 3-0," said head coach Gregg Schroeder. "That was the first time I saw the 10 guys on the field decide to press together. We showed a lot of promise, but by that time it was too little too late."
Leading up to the contest, CBU (1-3-1, 1-2 PacWest) had some misfortune that left them stranded in their bus on the way up to Fresno. The delay kept the Lancers from getting a training session in prior to the match, something Schroeder wished could have helped shake off some sluggishness.
"I don't want to put the blame on anything, but it was unfortunate we didn't get to train last night," said Schroeder. "We sat on a bus for 11 hours and tonight looked like we had had two days off. We came back really rusty and unprepared both mentally and physically."
FPU, who improves to 3-2-1 and 2-0 PacWest, came out with determination from the beginning. The Sunbirds scored in the first 10 minutes, as Eric Velarde fired off a hard shot from the top of the box. Ten minutes later, Gustavo Silva added another tally to the Sunbirds' total to put the score at 2-0, a score the Lancers have known all too well.
"The last four times we've played them, we've gone down 2-0 fairly early," said Schroeder. "Today was no different. They came out ready and put us under two gols. Our guys didn't have the mental fortitude to recover. We lacked composure."
Despite the score, CBU had chances to tie the game or even go ahead before halftime, but let the opportunities slip through the Lancers' hands.
"FPU had two or three saves off the line," said Schroeder. "There were open net opportunities we just missed."
Just over six minutes into the second half, the Sunbirds struck again. Renato Bustamante found himself free in front of an open net and tucked the ball into the goal.
"They have some really good attacking players," said Schroeder. "They're a good team and go forward well as a group."
Once the Lancers found themselves in a 3-0 hole, they responded and pressed offensively. CBU fired off 12 shots in the last third of the match, but couldn't find the back of the net. Paul Oliver led the Lancers with five of the team's 20 shots.
Ian Clark posted six saves to try to keep his team in the game.
"Teams go through adversity," said Schroeder. "It's not a matter of how things happen to you, but how you respond to them. We'll see how they respond to this loss."
The Lancers have the chance to respond on Saturday as they host BYU-Hawaii at 3:30 p.m. at Lancer Field for the conference home opener.
