PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A dominant defense fed into California Baptist University's offense and made the Lancers just about unstoppable in their first win of the season over Wagner on Sunday in the Bruno Classic.
CBU defeated Wagner 17-6 behind a trio of hat tricks from
PJ McDonough,
Hunter Barnett, and
Zach Lowery. The 16
th-ranked Lancers then looked to knock off tournament host and No. 20 Brown but fell just short in a 16-14 loss. Lowery and
Logan Mena both netted a hat trick, while
Riley Bumgardner added three assists and a goal in the loss to the Bears.
In Sunday's opener with the Seahawks, the Lancers came out hungry for their first win. They scored the first four goals of the game, with two coming from Barnett. CBU never let its lead dip below four goals, and grew it as high as 13 after a goal from
Woody Gates with 3:29 left in the contest.
CBU was stout defensively, holding Wagner to just three goals over about the first 27 minutes of the game.
Gabe Thorne posted a 78.6 save percentage (11-for-14), with 11 saves in just 16 minutes, while also getting the offense up on the counterattack with pinpoint outlet passes.
True freshman
Tristan Felberg made his collegiate debut in goal, and logged three saves, a steal and assist in just 16 minutes.
Joseph Galgani scored twice, while
Angel Sanchez and
Christian Britton each had three assists in the game.
Along with their hat tricks, Barnett and Lowery both had two assists and much more. Barnett drew three ejections and came away with two steals and a field block. Lowery also had two steals, won two sprints and had a field block.
It was back and forth in CBU's finale with Brown, which featured nine ties and five lead changes. No team could find more than a one-goal separation until the third quarter when a 3-0 run gave the Lancers an 11-8 lead.
Mena, Lowery, and McDonough scored the Lancers' three-straight goals in less than three minutes to give their team the 11-8 lead with 12:25 left in regulation.
Brown closed out the final three-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter on a 4-0 run of its own to take a 12-11 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The Bears took a 14-11 lead with 6:24 to go and wouldn't let CBU closer than two goals the rest of the way, despite goals from Lowery, Barnett and Mena in the fourth quarter. Mena also drew five ejections and Britton came up with three steals and two assists.
CBU ends the first week of the season with a 1-3 record, while Wagner drops to 0-4 and Brown opens up at 5-1.
The Lancers have two games scheduled for next week at the Western Water Polo Association/Golden Coast Conference Challenge Cup hosted by Loyola Marymount on Saturday. CBU will face No. 13 UC Irvine at 11:20 a.m. and seventh-ranked Pepperdine at 3 p.m.
