COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Try as it might, California Baptist University was unable to pick up its second upset in as many weeks. The Lancers saw a higher-ranked team in No. 18 Air Force dodge their late rally thanks to the Falcons' hot start.
CBU out-scored Air Force from the second quarter on, but could not top the Falcons, who scored the game's first six goals en route to a 13-10 victory over the 19th-ranked Lancers on Saturday morning. CBU falls to 14-12, 1-5 in conference in its Western Water Polo Association regular-season finale, while USAFA improves to 7-15, 1-3.
The Lancers will have to sit back and wait to see how the rest of the conference plays out to determine its seeding for the WWPA Championships, which will also be held at Air Force Nov. 20-21. CBU will certainly hope the Falcons and Santa Clara avoid an upset from Fresno Pacific, as it owns the tiebreaker over the Sunbirds, which would give the Lancers the No. 6 seed.Â
Teddy Forte notched a hat trick for CBU, which received two goals each from Brent Teraoka and Tanner Shore. Still, no Lancer had scored nine minutes, 24 seconds into the game, with the Falcons jumping out to a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Nick Candau got CBU on the board with 6:06 left before halftime, which sparked a 4-0 Lancer run. Forte, Teraoka and Shore all contributed to the run to bring the visitors back within two, 6-4, but Air Force answered with a 3-0 run to end the half, which increased its cushion to 9-4.
Walling and Forte scored in the first 2:12 of the third quarter to make it a three-goal deficit, 9-6. Forte and Teraoka scored one more each to keep the margin at three, but the Falcons would not let the Lancers any closer, with consecutive tallies giving the Falcons all the cushion they needed.
CBU concludes its home season against Redlands on Friday at 7 p.m. Three seniors – David Ring, Spencer Shore and Clint Walling – will be honored on Senior Day. The Lancers conclude the regular season against Concordia on Nov. 13th at noon.
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