Felix's Finishing Touch Leads Lancers

Friday, September 21

Riverside, Calif.

3:00 PM

California Baptist University

6-1-1

Hope International

5-3-0

Hope International University

California Baptist

Desarae Felix scores two goals and assists on the third in CBU's 3-1 victory over Hope International.

Photo by: Reagan Lee

Felix's Finishing Touch Leads Lancers

9/21/2018 5:41:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: Sammi Wellman, Director of Sports Information

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — In one of its final non-conference matchups, California Baptist University came alive in the second half Friday afternoon to grab a 3-1 win over Hope International.

Desarae Felix finished with two goals and an assist, helping the Lancers out-shoot the Royals 26-to-14, including a 10-to-5 shots on goal advantage.

CBU improves to 6-1-1 on the year, while HIU drops to 5-3-0 overall.

Despite the Lancers creating more chances in the first half, HIU found the back of the net first off a free kick in the 11^th minute.

"We came out flat and sluggish and you can't do that against any team," said Coach Kristen St. Clair. "We made some adjustments at halftime and the second half was a much better response. We focused on things we can control and played CBU soccer."

Coming out of the halftime break, the Lancers had new energy and determination.

Just two minutes into the second half, CBU found the equalizer. Desarae Felix worked her way down the left side of the 18-yard box and laid off a byline pass to the back post. Jordan Dow – wide open at the far post – one-touched it in to tie the game up 1-1.

"I'm so proud of the team's effort and will to bounce back and play our game," said Felix.

Less than four minutes later, Felix got a shot off that took a deflection, bounced off the post and back into the danger zone just six yards off the endline. Felix one-touched the rebound into the back of the net for the go-ahead goal, 2-1.

It didn't stop from there as Felix netted her second of the game and sixth of the year in the 61^st minute. Erin Gallagher played a weighted through ball into the path of Felix, allowing her to run onto it and tuck it home to give CBU a 3-1 cushion.

"Erin played a perfect ball," said St. Clair. "It was right where it needed to be."

Ari Coronado looked like she might get her first collegiate goal in the 70^th minute, firing off a shot that the Royal goalkeeper just got a tip on it to push it high. It ricocheted off the crossbar and back into play, however, allowing Rebecca Romero to get another shot off. This time, the goalkeeper smothered it to keep it out of the net.

"The team responded well," said St. Clair. "We scored three goals in 20 minutes and created numerous great scoring opportunities. Their goalkeeper made key saves. We definitely had a better performance in second half."

With just about a minute remaining, Gallagher looked to put the final dagger in, taking advantage of a Royal misclear but put just a little too much on it to send it over. It was the last opportunity for either team as CBU secured the 3-1 victory.

"The silver lining to giving up an early goal is every team needs to learn to play from behind," said St. Clair. "You roll up your sleeves, chip away and create opportunities. It's an important skill. What we learned from today will help us down the road."

The Lancers head to Cal Poly for a Sunday afternoon tilt, their last game before Western Athletic Conference action begins next week. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff.

"We'll learn from this game and know we have to play full 90 minutes from here on out, especially going into conference," said St. Clair. "Everybody has off games sometimes, but we want to make sure we're more consistent. We need to get back to our disciplined style of soccer. It's only going to get harder from here."