California Baptist University
Brown
Six Is The Lucky Number
3/26/2014 10:05:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – There was more than just one moment where it looked like California Baptist University's four-game winning streak was going to be snapped by Brown University.
Coming out of spring break, the Lancers won a thriller over the Bears in overtime and carried that momentum over into a lopsided win over Concordia on Wednesday. CBU defeated sixth-ranked Brown in the Collegiate Water Polo Association in overtime, 10-9, and ran through the Golden Eagles 15-6 at the Lancer Aquatics Center.
Laura Kocsis and Hannah Evans each had six goals on the day for the Lancers, who are receiving votes in the NCAA rankings. Kocsis added six steals, five assists and Evans drew eight ejections Wednesday.
CBU's winning streak has improved it from just above .500 to a strong 16-9, while Brown maintained an even record of 11-11 after defeating Concordia in its other game Wednesday. Concordia fell to 3-25 on the season.
“Brown's a good team and it was definitely tough coming off a week-and-a-half layoff, but the girls did enough to win and they played a hard game,” Coach Jonathan Miller said. “Brown certainly gave us all they had and all we could handle. It was good to finish a game like that.”
While they never trailed by more than two goals, the Lancers had trouble holding a lead against Brown. There were six ties and seven lead changes in the game. CBU's greatest test came in the first half of overtime when the Bears got a six-on-five goal from Shannon Crowley for a 9-8 lead with 4:07 to play.
Evans tied things up tied things up when she scored 33 seconds into the final three-minute overtime session. The transition goal was sparked by a Mallory Montano steal and outlet to the speedy Evans, who sprinted toward the cage and scored on the break.
Both defenses continued their lockdown play established from the third quarter on, with the score still tied with less than a minute to play. CBU called a timeout with 50 seconds remaining and saw its first shot saved by Brown keeper Sarah Shin, which gave the home team the chance to get the final shot with 26 ticks left.
Looking to feed Evans, who already had four goals in the game, Christina Young dropped a pass down into the two-meter position and two defenders swarmed Evans.
“I was thinking, I want to get the ball to her because she's good, she's strong and she's probably going to make something good happen,” Young said.
That she did. While battling for possession and space, Evans drew an exclusion with 14 seconds to go and dished back out to Young. Without hesitation, Young buried the game-winner with a near-side skip shot with 11 seconds left.
“I didn't want to go into another overtime so the shot had to go in no matter what, that's pretty much what was going through my head,” said Young, who had a hat trick, an assist and two field blocks in the game.
Brown had time for one last look, but its shot was off target and corralled by CBU goalie Lina Medeiros, who had nine saves (eight in the second half).
Montano drew three ejections and added two assists and a goal in the win over Brown. Kocsis had two goals and two assists, while Evans also drew four ejections.
CBU separated itself from Concordia by scoring on seven of its eight man advantages. On the day, the Lancers were 12-for-15 in those situations.
“We did a really good job today on 6-on-5,” Miller said. “Everybody was finding good shots and making the extra pass. Sometimes we force shots one pass too early, but we were finding those open shots today.”
As they have shown this season, the Lancers shifted into a different gear in the second half against the Golden Eagles. CBU held a 6-4 lead at the half with four of its goals coming on exclusions and Evans and Kocsis scoring two each.
CBU created more space by winning the third quarter on a 5-2 run, which put its lead at 11-6. With a fresh lineup, the Lancers won the final eight minutes with a 5-0 shutout.
Freshman reserve Valerie Spezzaferri earned a hat trick by scoring two goals over the final 1:31 for CBU, which received nine saves, a steal and assist from goalie Meghan Rowland. Morgan Barrows also had two goals, an assist and steal in the win. Alyssa Birch had two assists, two steals and a goal against the Eagles.
The Lancers will look for their first Golden Coast Conference win of the season Saturday when it hosts University of Pacific at 2 p.m.
