DAVIS, Calif. – Seventeen saves from
Gabe Thorne propelled California Baptist University to a one-goal, 9-8 win over 18
th-ranked San Jose State on Saturday at UC Davis' Aggie Roundup.
It secured the 19
th-ranked Lancers' first upset win over a higher-ranked opponent of the year. CBU owns 27 top-20 wins since it became an NCAA member in 2013, with its eight from 2018 standing as a single-season program record. Â
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PJ McDonough scored the game-winning goal with 2:06 left in regulation on an assist from
Angel Sanchez. McDonough beat the goalie to the near post to give CBU a 9-8 lead.
The Lancers' defense, particularly Thorne, ensured the game would not go to overtime and stopped the Spartans' offense five times over the final two minutes. Five of Thorne's 17 saves came in the fourth quarter, including two in the final two minutes.
No save was bigger than Thorne's final one that came on a SJSU powerplay with about 20 seconds to play. Then the Lancers ran the clock down to five seconds, and the Spartans called timeout to give themselves one more shot. CBU's defense did not even let off a shot attempt in the end to secure the win.
It was a hard-fought game that featured eight ties and four lead changes. San Jose State scored first in the fourth quarter to take a 7-6 lead with 7:42 to play.
Joseph Galgani and McDonough netted back-to-back goals to give the Lancers an 8-7 lead with 5:38 left. The Spartans then tied the game with 2:28 remaining.
McDonough finished with a game-high four points on two goals and two assists.
Logan Mena and Galgani both scored twice on San Jose State, with Galgani adding an assist, as well.
Christian Britton also had a goal, assist and steal, while Thorne added an assist and steal in the win.
Earlier Saturday, CBU had one of its best performances ever against a storied California program in a 16-7 loss. It moves the Lancers' record to 3-7, while Cal improves to 4-3 and San Jose State drops to 0-4.
CBU will make its long-awaited home debut next week when it hosts Concordia for a non-conference contest Thursday at 6 p.m. The Lancers then resume Western Water Polo Association play with a home game against reigning conference champion UC San Diego on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 6 p.m.
Live results and
video will be available for both games through
The FOSH and
Youtube, respectively.
Galgani and Mena led the Lancers' scoring with two goals each against a Golden Bears program that has won 35 conference championships and 14 NCAA championships, most recently in 2016. Mena also drew six ejections, while
Riley Bumgardner had two assists and
Zach Lowery added a goal and assist.
The Lancers started the game strong, answering Cal's game-opening goal 1:20 into the contest with three straight. Goals from
PJ McDonough, Mena and Lowery gave CBU a 3-1 lead 16 seconds into the second quarter.
California then rattled off a 5-0 run to take a 6-3 lead at halftime. It was the ninth meeting between the Lancers and Cal. CBU's seven goals were one of the record of eight it scored versus the Bears on Sept. 5, 2015.
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