RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- After Coach Kevin Rosa preached the importance of starting quickly the day before, California Baptist University took its coach's message to heart in its final two games of the Lancer Invite on Saturday.
CBU dominated both of its first quarters against Concordia and Whittier en route to lopsided wins of 18-7 over the Poets and 16-6 over the Eagles. The 16th-ranked Lancers improve to 9-6 this season, as they have now won six games in a row. Whittier falls to 7-6 on the year.
"I thought the Whittier game was a good effort from start to finish, we definitely got that quick start we wanted," Rosa said. "Against Concordia, we started well but things grinded to a half in the second quarter. We were able to pick it up again, though, and it was a better, consistent effort today."
In the opening game against Whittier, CBU won the first quarter by a score of 4-1 and took a 7-2 run all the way to halftime.
Tanner Shore put up three assists, four steals and a goal in the win. Meanwhile, Brent Teraoka scored a game-high four goals in the win, while Teddy Forte, Elad Gunya andMatthew Diacono each added two. Dominick Nevarezscored and had two assists while Kyle Johnson added four steals in the victory.
Both teams traded goals within a 13-second span for a 1-1 tie at the 5:32 mark. The Lancer broke the tie and ended the first quarter on a 3-0 run. Teraoka, Gunya,Luke Schuler and Diacono all scored in the opening period to make it 4-1 going into the second period.
Whittier scored first in quarter two on a penalty shot, butShore helped set up the next two Lancer goals to widen the lead to four, 6-2. First, Shore assisted on a powerplay goal from Forte, 1:14 into the quarter. About 1:15 later, Shore sparked a counterattack with a steal. He passed the ball back to the goalie, Joseph Moorman, who fed Shore for the goal.
The Poets ended the 5-1 run with a six-on-five goal, but CBU scored the final goals of the half, with Teraoka scoring on a Nevarez assist and Gunya converting a penalty shot to make it 8-3 at the break.
Even after it started quickly, the Lancers saved their best for last and went on an 8-0 run over five-and-a-half minutes, with Strabel scoring twice in the onslaught. The bench led the way in the process, with just two goals coming from starters.
CBU opened its weekend finale with four-straight goals over the Eagles. Teraoka, Nevarez, Diacono and Gunya all scored in the run, with Gunya putting two home in the first quarter.
Concordia fought back into the game by playing the Lancers even in the second quarter, 2-2, to pull within 7-3.
CBU deflated the Eagles by blanking them in the third quarter to take a nine-goal lead, 12-3, heading into the final eight minutes.
The Lancers scored five times in the third quarter. The first goal, scored at two-meters by Diacono, was set up by some beautiful ball movement and a feed from Gunya. Next, Teraoka assisted on Thomas Henline's transition goal with 4:05 to play, making it 9-3 CBU. Rogers, Johnson and Nevarez rattled off three-straight Lancer goals to pad the lead.
Now, the Lancers begin the meat of their schedule, beginning WWPA play on Thursday when they play host to conference rival and 10th-ranked UC Davis at 5 p.m. Good news is CBU is riding a wave of momentum into the game, with its six-consecutive wins.
"This is all in preparation for the WWPA, UC Davis on Thursday and beyond that," Rosa said. "UC Davis plays at a high level and we have to be ready for that, but we have the confidence after these last two weeks."
WHITTIER BOX SCORE
CONCORDIA BOX SCORE
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