California Baptist University
Azusa Pacific
Five For Fighting
4/27/2014 4:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—California Baptist University ended its inaugural season in the Golden Coast Conference on a high note with a hard-fought 9-8 win over Azusa Pacific for a fifth-place finish at the GCC Championships.
Jonathan Miller closes his first season out as head coach with a 21-11 record, while APU finished 16-21 overall.
“We were really happy with this season,” said Miller. “The team never gave up in any of the games and I think they really played to their potential.”
The game remained close throughout the four quarters with both teams countering opposing goals.
After APU capitalized on a Lancer ejection and grabbed the first goal of the game, Laura Kocsis found a shot to the upper right corner of the cage to tie the game 1-1 late in the first quarter.
With the game still tied 1-1 in the second period, senior Molly Gritchen drew a penalty and converted the goal to give the Lancers the 2-1 lead. After APU countered the goal, both teams went back and forth before Samantha Banks assisted Hannah Evans for a goal inside the two-meters lifting the Lancers back up 3-2. APU reciprocated with a goal, but Kocsis countered right back with an assist from Alyssa Birch. The period wouldn't come to an end until senior Christina Young grabbed a goal with one second left on the clock to give the CBU the two-goal lead heading into the half, 5-3.
Both teams continued to battle back and forth with back-to-back goals from each side. The first goal came from Evans, followed by a Cougar goal and then midway through the quarter Kocsis grabbed a goal off a pass from Young, giving the Lancers a 7-4 lead. APU managed two more goals before then heading into the final quarter with the score 7-6.
Senior Briana Tryon found an opportunity to keep the Lancers up early in the fourth with a shot from the left side. After APU converted a six-on-five opportunity, Mallory Montano grabbed a goalie-block rebound and slipped it past the Cougar goalie after back-to-back shots on goal from Tryon and Gritchen. With the Lancers leading 9-7 and the game coming to a close, APU managed to get a shot passed Meghan Rowland in the cage but the Lancers held onto the 9-8 lead until the final buzzer rang.
Rowland tallied 15 saves in the game, while Kocsis went three-for-four in goal attempts, and Evans two-for-two.
“We knew [APU] was going to come ready to play,” Miller added. “It's hard to beat a team twice, especially a team in your conference. They came motivated to play us but we are happy to end the season with a win and all our seniors played great today.”
In addition to her two goals per game, Evans was named to the 2014 GCC All-Tournament team.
