California Baptist University
Fordham
Wethering Washington
10/2/2014 8:34:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
California Baptist University men's water polo remained undefeated at home with a pair of two-goal wins over Fordham and George Washington Thursday...
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – After a three-game road trip, California Baptist University was happy to head home, where it had yet to lose a game this season. CBU kept its perfect record at the Lancer Aquatic Center in tact Thursday with two-goal victories over Fordham and George Washington.
While CBU won by a close 10-8 margin in its opener against the Rams, it controlled the whole game. The Lancers may have never trailed in their 15-13 victory over the Colonials, but it was a nail-biting, playoff-type battle.
With the victories, the Lancers moved to 11-7 on the year and 8-0 at home. Fordham falls to 8-5 and George Washington to 6-6 in 2014.
"Being undefeated at home is something we take pride in, especially now," Cody Wetherbee said. "This is Coach [Rick Rowland's] last year [with water polo], so we want to do him a favor and send him out undefeated at home, so he can take something great away from this season."
Wetherbee played a big role in leading CBU to victory over George Washington. He logged a hat trick in the second quarter, but his biggest tally of his four-goal night came with 32 seconds to play.
With the shot clock running out, Wetherbee fired up a desperation shot from about half pool. His shot ricocheted off the near post and into the cage to give the Lancers a 15-13 advantage with 32 seconds remaining.
"I thought we were down by one, to be honest," Wetherbee said. "I just felt like I had to make it, and I noticed I had an alleyway nearside. … I was just hoping it would go in somehow, I didn't care how it went in as long as it went in."
Joseph Moorman, who finished with 15 saves in the game and 31 on the day, had two big blocks on the Colonials' final possession to secure the victory. Brent Teraoka also had a hat trick in the game, while David Ring and Jake Jizmejian had two goals each.
It was a back-and-forth affair between the Lancers and Colonials. In the first quarter, CBU jumped out to a 4-1 lead and led by two, 4-2, going into the second period. CBU opened its advantage up to 9-5 with 2:01 to go in the half after Wetherbee scored his third goal of the quarter.
George Washington closed back within two, 9-7, going into halftime and pulled within one, 9-8, after scoring the first goal of the third quarter. Consecutive goals from Jizmejian and Eric Carnohan appeared to give the Lancers some room to breathe, 11-8, with 1:53 to go in the period, but back-to-back tallies brought the Colonials within a strike, 11-10, headed into the fourth.
The intensity ramped up over the final eight minutes. Ring scored the first goal of the quarter to put CBU up 12-10, but GWU tied things up for the first time at 12-12. Teraoka scored for a 13-12 Lancers edge with 5:30 remaining, but the Colonials knotted things at 13-13.
Ring added his second goal of the quarter to push CBU back in front, 14-13, with 2:26 to play. Defense took over down the stretch as George Washington was unable to score on its next two possessions, which allowed Wetherbee to put the Lancers up by two, 15-13, for good.
"They're a good team, we are just playing well as a team and bonding like brothers," Wetherbee said.
CBU took a big lead in its first game, as well, and rode it out to a much more comfortable two-goal win over Fordham. Moorman compiled 16 saves in the game, while Carnohan registered a hat trick, with two goals in the fourth quarter. Teraoka and Davor Koret both had two goals in the opening-day win.
Both teams traded goals in the first quarter, with the Lancers getting the first and last laugh. Teraoka opened up the scoring for CBU about two minutes in, and Koret cashed in a beautiful last-second, lob shot across cage into the bottom-right corner to end the quarter with the home team up, 4-3.
It was the start of three-straight CBU goals and a 6-3 lead for the Lancers, as Carnohan opened the second-half scoring about halfway through off a Jizmejian assist. The Lancers then scored on a breakaway, with Teraoka finishing a Koret pass with 2:34 to play in the half. Moorman played a big role in CBU taking a three-goal advantage at the break, with eight saves in the first 16 minutes.
The Rams pulled within two, 7-5, headed into the fourth quarter but Koret restored the Lancers' three-goal lead, 8-5, scoring 38 seconds into the fourth. Carnohan gave CBU its biggest lead of the game, 9-5, with 6:03 to play.
Fordham pulled within three again, but Carnohan kept the Lancers up four, 10-6, with a five-meter penalty shot goal he earned himself with about four minutes left. The Rams climbed within two, but it was too late to worry CBU.
From here, the Lancers open Western Water Polo Association play and begin their conference slate with home games against UC Davis on Oct. 9 (7:00 p.m.) and Santa Clara on Oct. 10 (3:30 p.m.).
