California Baptist University
Virginia Military Institute
Best For Last
3/15/2014 10:25:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – It's a clear sign things are going well for any team, including California Baptist University, when wholesale substitutions are being made.
That's exactly what the Lancers enjoyed in both games Saturday to close out the second Lancer Invitational tournament with victories over the Virginia Military Institute, 14-4, and Chapman, 17-3. It ended a long week for CBU, as it played six games this week and four over the last two days.
Perhaps surprisingly, the Lancers' best game of the week, and arguably of their season, came at the end of it all Saturday, with spring break right around the corner.
“You'd think the sixth game at the end of the week would be the toughest, but I think they came out and really wanted to end the week on a good note,” Coach Jonathan Miller said. “They weren't happy with how they started out this morning and they really wanted to come out and make a statement tonight to have something to carry into the break.”
CBU, which is ranked 20th in the NCAA by the Collegiate Water Polo Association, has now won four straight and seven of its last eight to improve to 14-9 on the season. Overall, the Lancers are 10-1 at home this year with their lone loss coming against top-ranked USC. Chapman, the fifth-ranked team in Division III, fell to 5-11 and VMI is now 8-11.
Ten players scored in the Lancers' win over Chapman, with Raine Paul notching a hat trick and four others – Hannah Evans, Molly Gritchen, Laura Kocsis and Christina Young – scoring twice. Sydney Iturraran also had a goal and three assists in the win for CBU, which received 13 saves, six assists and three steals from goalie Lina Medeiros.
CBU began rotating in all new players in the second quarter against Chapman, as it pushed out to a comfortable 12-0 lead at halftime. The Lancers had scored the first 15 goals before the Panthers got on the board with 1:52 left in the third quarter.
“Our first group put away their opportunities and didn't leave any goals out there,” Miller said. “Our scoring was pretty evenly spread out, too, a lot of girls scored twice but only one had three goals.”
CBU may not have started as strong in Saturday's opener against the Virginia Military Institute, but it rotated in nearly its entire lineup in the second half after a dominant defensive performance over the last 16 minutes.
Evans anchored CBU's offense with five goals against the Keydets. Kocsis also had a hat trick in the game, while Gritchen added a pair of tallies. Young also had a goal in the win but her major contribution came from her game-high four assists.
Goals from Kocsis, Evans and Gritchen gave the Lancers a 3-1 lead at the end of the first period. CBU was unable to build on the lead at halftime, as both teams scored three times in the second. Evans had two of her goals in the frame, while Kocsis added her second tally.
Mallory Montano opened the second-half scoring 25 seconds in for CBU. Leticia Perez, who had two more assists in the opener, had 11 saves in the cage to go along with her shutout of VMI in the final 16 minutes.
“We started out a little slow in the first half against VMI and didn't really hit our groove until the third quarter,” Miller said.
Miller and the Lancers will enjoy some time off during spring break next week before getting back in the action at the Lancer Aquatics Center March 26, hosting Brown and Concordia at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively.
CBU will then gear up for Golden Coast Conference play, starting with the University of Pacific at 2 p.m. on March 29.
“Those conference games will be tough and those are the most important ones,” Miller said. “All the girls are feeling good, though, seeing a lot of minutes and getting chances to show what they've got.”
