Downing the Cougars

Thursday, April 21

Riverside, Calif.

7:00 PM

California Baptist University

Azusa Pacific

Photo by: Jacob Gonzalez

4/21/2016 10:18:00 PM | Women's Water Polo

By: Jake Zalesky, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

BOX SCORE

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – It was a night to remember for the No. 23 California Baptist University women's water polo team, as it beat rival Azusa Pacific 13-3 on an emotional Senior Night.

"[The seniors] had enough motivation to play against APU on Senior Day," head coach Jon Miller. "It was a special chance for them to all play one last time together in front of their home crowd. This group put a lot of hard work in the last few years and they wanted to come out and attack early."

Starting off with a bang, senior two-meter Hannah Evans grabbed a quick goal in less than 30 seconds into the first quarter. CBU's all-time leading scorer finished with five goals on the day to move her tally to 362 career goals, with more season left to play.

CBU was called on five consecutive ejections. The Lancers played strong, collaborative defense, however, to not allow the Cougars one goal off a total of eight ejections the entire game.

"Our six-on-five defense percentage has been really good this year, that's something we've really worked on. On average we're holding teams to around thirty-percent, which is great," Miller said.

In the cage, senior Meghan Rowland played a crucial part to the victory. She finished with 10 saves and jump started the attacks from the back, often sending long balls over the top to create multiple goal scoring chances right after a save or defensive stop.

With the solid defense backing them, the Lancer offense put on a show. As the shot clock wound down, Valerie Spezzaferri scored a well-placed, bar in shot from far out to make it 2-0. Moments later, senior Samantha Banks notched the last goal of the first quarter, giving the Lancers a 3-0 lead over APU.

There were 17 ejections in the game between the two Golden Coast Conference rivals, but CBU took advantage of the man-up opportunities, scoring on five of its six 6-on-5 opportunities. They racked up seven goals, while only conceding two, in the next two quarters to hold a commanding 10-2 edge heading into the final frame. Marnie Kavern scored her third goal of the day in the third and couldn't help but smile on her Senior Day.

"As a team, we played really well," said a joyful Kavern. "Personally, I think I had one of my best games and I attribute that to my teammates for getting me the ball and playing great defense. I don't think there was any better way to end the season at home. It has been such a blessing [to play for the Lancers]. Coming to CBU was really where I felt I needed to be and the coaches and players have reaffirmed that. I have grown so much as a person and a player."

Also getting in on a Senior Day hat trick was Laura Kocsis, who dictated and dominated the final quarter of the game. After she had already scored a goal in the second quarter, Kocsis found the back of the cage two more times in the fourth to cap her final home game.

"It feels good," Kocsis said. "It's a bittersweet feeling, but just having the girls here, it was great and we played really well. All of the seniors played fantastic today, we just wanted to enjoy it."

Fellow seniors Caroline Howard, Courtney Menard and Kaitlyn Persky all put in quality performances that helped guide their team to a dominating victory.

As the regular season comes to a close, the Lancers gear up for the postseason where they will compete in the Golden Coast Conference Tournament in San Diego. CBU solidified the No. 3 seed in the tournament after the win Thursday night and high hopes are in order after a dominant display.

"I really hope this was a good warm up for next Friday," Kocsis said. "We definitely want to come home from San Diego with the championship."