Wednesday, March 15
Riverside, Calif.
3:00 PM
California Baptist University
14
vs
9
Virginia Military Institute
Photo by: Jacob Gonzalez
Lancers Stay Hot at Home
3/15/2017 5:26:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The weather wasn't the only thing heating up at the Riverside Aquatics Center Wednesday, as No. 25-ranked California Baptist University extended its winning streak to seven-straight with a 14-9 win over Virginia Military Institute.
With the win, the Lancers improve to 14-8 overall, while VMI drops to 10-3.
While it was certainly a team effort, senior driver Valerie Spezzaferri led the charge with five goals on six shots, along with two steals. Fellow senior driver Paizlee Dreyer also contributed three goals, three assists and one steal, while redshirt senior goalkeeper Lina Medeiros controlled the defense with six saves and five steals.
CBU opened the first period of play with a five-meter penalty goal from Spezzaferri to take an early 1-0 lead. Dreyer quickly followed suit with another goal, this time on a powerplay, to put the Lancers up 2-0 less than three minutes into play. A VMI exclusion allowed Jessica Castellano to net a goal off of a Dreyer pass at the 4:32 mark, putting CBU in the driver's seat with a quick 3-0 cushion.
The Keydets, however, struck back with a goal at the 3:28 mark to make it a 3-1 game. CBU responded with goals from Amy Bideshi and Spezzaferri on even strength, while Annie Eubanks found the back of the cage with eight seconds left in the first period, to give the Lancers a 6-1 upper hand going into the second.
"We've really come out and played hard and worked on the little things lately," said Spezzaferri. "We've tried our best to make these past seven games count as we prepare for conference play."
The next seven games for the Lancers will be Golden Coast Conference games, which will give the squad an opportunity to achieve its ultimate goal of winning a conference title. It was clear that the Lancers had that goal in mind throughout the rest of Wednesday's game, wanting to carry momentum into conference play next week.
Eubanks opened the second period with a tremendous behind-the-back goal to keep the ball rolling for the Lancers, followed by another Dreyer goal less than a minute later to put CBU up 8-1.
VMI responded with two goals before Castellano was able to find the back of the cage at the 2:28 mark to hold a 9-3 advantage going into the break.
The Keydets heated up in the third, however, outscoring the Lancers 4-3 and coming close at the end of the period, 11-7, before Spezzaferri made her fourth goal to keep some cushion for the Lancers.
Refusing to give the Keydets hope, sophomore utility Pua Wong took advantage of a rebound off of a shot from Dreyer and netted the goal to give CBU another push, up 14-8. VMI answered with a goal shortly after, but there was only eight seconds left in the game, and it would not be enough to catch the Lancers.
CBU returns home Friday, March 24 for a conference matchup against San Diego State at 4:00 p.m.
With the win, the Lancers improve to 14-8 overall, while VMI drops to 10-3.
While it was certainly a team effort, senior driver Valerie Spezzaferri led the charge with five goals on six shots, along with two steals. Fellow senior driver Paizlee Dreyer also contributed three goals, three assists and one steal, while redshirt senior goalkeeper Lina Medeiros controlled the defense with six saves and five steals.
CBU opened the first period of play with a five-meter penalty goal from Spezzaferri to take an early 1-0 lead. Dreyer quickly followed suit with another goal, this time on a powerplay, to put the Lancers up 2-0 less than three minutes into play. A VMI exclusion allowed Jessica Castellano to net a goal off of a Dreyer pass at the 4:32 mark, putting CBU in the driver's seat with a quick 3-0 cushion.
The Keydets, however, struck back with a goal at the 3:28 mark to make it a 3-1 game. CBU responded with goals from Amy Bideshi and Spezzaferri on even strength, while Annie Eubanks found the back of the cage with eight seconds left in the first period, to give the Lancers a 6-1 upper hand going into the second.
"We've really come out and played hard and worked on the little things lately," said Spezzaferri. "We've tried our best to make these past seven games count as we prepare for conference play."
The next seven games for the Lancers will be Golden Coast Conference games, which will give the squad an opportunity to achieve its ultimate goal of winning a conference title. It was clear that the Lancers had that goal in mind throughout the rest of Wednesday's game, wanting to carry momentum into conference play next week.
Eubanks opened the second period with a tremendous behind-the-back goal to keep the ball rolling for the Lancers, followed by another Dreyer goal less than a minute later to put CBU up 8-1.
VMI responded with two goals before Castellano was able to find the back of the cage at the 2:28 mark to hold a 9-3 advantage going into the break.
The Keydets heated up in the third, however, outscoring the Lancers 4-3 and coming close at the end of the period, 11-7, before Spezzaferri made her fourth goal to keep some cushion for the Lancers.
Refusing to give the Keydets hope, sophomore utility Pua Wong took advantage of a rebound off of a shot from Dreyer and netted the goal to give CBU another push, up 14-8. VMI answered with a goal shortly after, but there was only eight seconds left in the game, and it would not be enough to catch the Lancers.
CBU returns home Friday, March 24 for a conference matchup against San Diego State at 4:00 p.m.
Players Mentioned
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
2MD
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
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