California Baptist University
Santa Clara
Women's Water Polo Finishes Regular Season At Santa Clara
4/13/2023 3:45:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
SANTA CLARA – California Baptist University women's water polo closed the regular season on Thursday on the road up north, taking on Santa Clara. The Lancers led in the fourth but could not quell the Broncos' late rally as Santa Clara earned the 12-11 win.
The Broncos held a slight edge after the first eight minutes building a 3-2 advantage. The score line flipped in the second as the two teams went into halftime even at 5-all. The Lancers' aggression in the first half led to seven exclusions.
That aggression worked in CBU's favor to open the second half, though, as Emaly Hutton drew a penalty and skipped it in to give the Lancers their first lead of the day. The teams would trade goals for most of the third, including the Lancers earning a second penalty shot, this time with Melinna Galbraith netting the 5-meter freebie.
CBU would begin to pull away halfway through the third quarter as Dora Lehoczky scored her hat trick goal, giving the Lancers a three-goal cushion at the midpoint of the frame, but would go into the fourth with a 9-7 lead.
Jamie Hutton also notched a hat trick, netting her third goal in the final period of regulation. The Broncos were not fazed by the 10-7 deficit and rallied to take a late lead at 12-11 with under a minute to play. A handful of huge defensive stops at the net inside the final 10 seconds kept CBU alive but without enough time to make a final push.
Jamie Hutton would finish the game with a team-high four goals, bringing her final regular season tally to 59, a single-season career high for the senior. Lehoczky's hat trick was her eighth of the year, tied with Jamie for the most this season.
Next up for the Lancers will be the Golden Coast Conference Tournament, in which they will be the 8-Seed. The tournament will be hosted by San Diego State this season, April 28-30, with the Lancers playing on the 1-seed at 4:00 p.m. on the 28th.
