RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist women's soccer program opened Western Athletic Conference play with a decisive win over Southern Utah, ending the night with a 5-1 victory. After celebrating 12 seniors, CBU saw four different goal scorers throughout the 90 minutes and improved to 5-3-2 on the season.
"There was a lot of emotion as we honored a very special senior class this evening that has invested a lot into the program.
First half we were not up to our standards and conceded some attacking opportunities that we don't normally give up. It was great to see WAC pre-season defensive Player of the Year Taylor Summit suit up for the first time this season and to see her immediate impact on the match to help us get the goal off a well timed pass. Mia Scranton provided a spark to the attack with two assists tonight and we had two freshman secure their first goals," remarked Head Coach Kristen St. Clair.
Sophia Petrov opened up the scoring for the six-goal match in the 19th minute, tapping a ball into the left corner of the goal with the help of Taylor Summit and Mia Scranton. The Thunderbirds managed to level the game 13 minutes later with a goal from the left side of the 18-yard box, but CBU would answer just 10 minutes later with a Nikki Mau banger for her first collegiate goal to head into halftime with a 2-1 lead.
The Lancers came out on fire in the second half and immediately began pressing Southern Utah's backline, peppering their goalkeeper with shots. Kaylee Hauck drove down the left side in the 50th minute and went around an SUU defender to whip a shot across the box that found Lauryn White, who tapped in her second goal of the season. The Lancers continued to test Southern Utah's defense, totaling 11 shots during the second half alone. A crossed ball in the Thunderbird's defensive third gave way to the fourth goal for CBU after an SUU defender kicked it into their own net. A 90th-minute goal from true freshman Daisy Miller sealed the 5-1 win for the Lancers and put CBU tied at the top of the WAC standings with Seattle, Utah Valley, and Grand Canyon to finish out the first week of conference play.
Scranton had quite the night on the right side of the pitch, tallying a pair of assists across 90 minutes of action. Miller, Mau, and Petrov all scored off the bench for Head Coach Kristen St. Clair, flexing the Lancer's offensive depth. The match versus Southern Utah saw the most shots on goal in a single match for CBU this season, as well as the most goals in a single game for the Lancers.
"We are grateful for the impact and investment that seniors; Paige Ingram, Riley Goosen-Brown, Rilee Harmon, Grace Blumfeldt, Jordan Roe, Natalia Castro, Lauryn White, Morgan Witz, Marcella Brooks, Jana Heinen, Taylor Summit and Jayden Ramirez have put into the program during their time at CBU. This was a good start to conference play and we look forward to continuing to refine ourselves as we get back to work on Monday prepping for our next opponent," finished St. Clair.
CBU is set to welcome Tarleton on Thursday evening as WAC play continues next week.
