Friday, October 5
La Jolla, Calif.
6:00 PM
California Baptist University
10
at
9
UC San Diego
Photo by: Dwain Linden
Lancers Upset No. 8 UC San Diego
10/5/2018 8:14:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
LA JOLLA, Calif. – Late execution and a second-quarter surge helped California Baptist University pull out the biggest Western Water Polo Association win in team history on Friday night.
Two plays in the final six seconds secured the 10-9 conference victory over eighth-ranked UC San Diego at the Canyonview Aquatic Center. Dominick Nevarez scored the go-ahead goal on a penalty shot with six seconds left, and Tommy Lotero saved UCSD's attempt at an equalizer at the buzzer to preserve the lead.
It is CBU's 20th win over a ranked NCAA team since it officially became a member in 2013, and the team's third over a top-10 team. The victory matches the Lancers' biggest upset ever, with their first win over the No. 8 team in the country coming at UC Irvine (9-8) on Sept. 21, 2016.
Coach Kevin Rosa praised the Lancers' defensive effort on Friday night, as they held UCSD to just five goals over the final 27 minutes.
"The defensive effort was there all game long, the effort we have been talking about all year," Rosa said. "We had white water on offense and defense, we kept working and didn't relax. We hustled and got back on defense and that was the difference. We didn't give up any easy goals after the first six minutes."
It is CBU's first-ever top-10 win in WWPA play, as it improves to 11-8 and 1-1 in conference, and drops UCSD to 10-3, 3-1. The Lancers also got their first-ever win over a storied UC San Diego program in the 13-game series. The Tritons have advanced to the NCAA Championship 15 times, won 18 WWPA titles and finished runner-up 14 other times in the conference, including last season.
There is little time to celebrate, though, as the Lancers play two more games this weekend at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps' Gary Troyer Tournament. The Lancers face Navy at 11:40 a.m. and then Fordham at 3:40 p.m. on Saturday.
Nevarez scored three goals in the win, with two coming on five-meter penalties. Logan Mena added two goals and drew three exclusions for CBU, which received 13 saves from Lotero. The Lancers were also boosted by two assists and a goal each from Christian Britton (two steals) and Zach Lowery (two drawn ejections, one steal).
"This is probably the best game I have been a part of since I have been here," Rosa said. "Everyone stepped up and took the shot when they needed to. There is no one you can key on with our team because if you do, someone else will step up.
"We scored all types of different goals, it wasn't like we just did one thing. The guys did their job, put themselves in position and took advantage of that."
The Lancers started strong by winning the opening sprint. Mena then scored on the first shot of the game 25 seconds into the action. Lowery scored about two minutes later to keep the Lancers ahead, 2-1, but UCSD ended the first quarter on a 3-0 run to seize a 4-2 lead going into the second.
CBU simply used that as fuel in the second quarter, and won those eight minutes 4-2 to force a 6-6 tie by halftime. Nevarez, PJ McDonough, Hunter Barnett and Britton all added to the run with goals.
Nevarez scored his first penalty shot about 45 seconds into the third quarter. Ryan Sargis then gave CBU its biggest lead of the game, 8-6, with a beautiful bar-in goal from deep with 3:24 left in the frame. UC San Diego was bound to make a run and did just that to tie the game 8-8 with 4:26 to play.
Mena powered home another goal from two-meters to give CBU a 9-8 lead with 3:32 left, but the Tritons scored again for a 9-9 tie with 1:38 to play. The next two trips down the pool ended up with saves from both goalies, and the Lancers called timeout with possession and 14 seconds left.
The play CBU ran out of the timeout created confusion with UCSD's defense, and freed up Kyle Johnson inside two-meters. Lowery immediately hit the wide-open Johnson with a pass from the wing and the Tritons were forced to foul to avoid the easy goal. It gave CBU a five-meter penalty shot with six seconds on the clock.
"It goes back to composure, those are plays you work on a lot in practice and don't know if you'll ever use," Rosa said. "You have to be diligent and work hard in practice because you never know when those plays will come in handy. Zach made the right read and Kyle did a great job getting open and drawing the penalty."
Nevarez went up for his third penalty shot of the game after having his second blocked by UCSD goalie Jack Turner at the 7:22 mark of the fourth quarter. If there was pressure, Nevarez did not let it show and skipped the penalty shot into the top-right corner for the 10-9 lead.
UCSD managed to get a shot on goal in the last second, but Lotero came up with the biggest of his 13 saves to end the game.
Two plays in the final six seconds secured the 10-9 conference victory over eighth-ranked UC San Diego at the Canyonview Aquatic Center. Dominick Nevarez scored the go-ahead goal on a penalty shot with six seconds left, and Tommy Lotero saved UCSD's attempt at an equalizer at the buzzer to preserve the lead.
It is CBU's 20th win over a ranked NCAA team since it officially became a member in 2013, and the team's third over a top-10 team. The victory matches the Lancers' biggest upset ever, with their first win over the No. 8 team in the country coming at UC Irvine (9-8) on Sept. 21, 2016.
Coach Kevin Rosa praised the Lancers' defensive effort on Friday night, as they held UCSD to just five goals over the final 27 minutes.
"The defensive effort was there all game long, the effort we have been talking about all year," Rosa said. "We had white water on offense and defense, we kept working and didn't relax. We hustled and got back on defense and that was the difference. We didn't give up any easy goals after the first six minutes."
It is CBU's first-ever top-10 win in WWPA play, as it improves to 11-8 and 1-1 in conference, and drops UCSD to 10-3, 3-1. The Lancers also got their first-ever win over a storied UC San Diego program in the 13-game series. The Tritons have advanced to the NCAA Championship 15 times, won 18 WWPA titles and finished runner-up 14 other times in the conference, including last season.
There is little time to celebrate, though, as the Lancers play two more games this weekend at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps' Gary Troyer Tournament. The Lancers face Navy at 11:40 a.m. and then Fordham at 3:40 p.m. on Saturday.
Nevarez scored three goals in the win, with two coming on five-meter penalties. Logan Mena added two goals and drew three exclusions for CBU, which received 13 saves from Lotero. The Lancers were also boosted by two assists and a goal each from Christian Britton (two steals) and Zach Lowery (two drawn ejections, one steal).
"This is probably the best game I have been a part of since I have been here," Rosa said. "Everyone stepped up and took the shot when they needed to. There is no one you can key on with our team because if you do, someone else will step up.
"We scored all types of different goals, it wasn't like we just did one thing. The guys did their job, put themselves in position and took advantage of that."
The Lancers started strong by winning the opening sprint. Mena then scored on the first shot of the game 25 seconds into the action. Lowery scored about two minutes later to keep the Lancers ahead, 2-1, but UCSD ended the first quarter on a 3-0 run to seize a 4-2 lead going into the second.
CBU simply used that as fuel in the second quarter, and won those eight minutes 4-2 to force a 6-6 tie by halftime. Nevarez, PJ McDonough, Hunter Barnett and Britton all added to the run with goals.
Nevarez scored his first penalty shot about 45 seconds into the third quarter. Ryan Sargis then gave CBU its biggest lead of the game, 8-6, with a beautiful bar-in goal from deep with 3:24 left in the frame. UC San Diego was bound to make a run and did just that to tie the game 8-8 with 4:26 to play.
Mena powered home another goal from two-meters to give CBU a 9-8 lead with 3:32 left, but the Tritons scored again for a 9-9 tie with 1:38 to play. The next two trips down the pool ended up with saves from both goalies, and the Lancers called timeout with possession and 14 seconds left.
The play CBU ran out of the timeout created confusion with UCSD's defense, and freed up Kyle Johnson inside two-meters. Lowery immediately hit the wide-open Johnson with a pass from the wing and the Tritons were forced to foul to avoid the easy goal. It gave CBU a five-meter penalty shot with six seconds on the clock.
"It goes back to composure, those are plays you work on a lot in practice and don't know if you'll ever use," Rosa said. "You have to be diligent and work hard in practice because you never know when those plays will come in handy. Zach made the right read and Kyle did a great job getting open and drawing the penalty."
Nevarez went up for his third penalty shot of the game after having his second blocked by UCSD goalie Jack Turner at the 7:22 mark of the fourth quarter. If there was pressure, Nevarez did not let it show and skipped the penalty shot into the top-right corner for the 10-9 lead.
UCSD managed to get a shot on goal in the last second, but Lotero came up with the biggest of his 13 saves to end the game.
Players Mentioned
ATT
/ Men's Water Polo
ATT
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
G
/ Men's Water Polo
ATT
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
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