CBU Concludes Harvard Invite on Sunday Morning

Sunday, March 2

Cambridge, MA

5:30 AM

California Baptist University

7-10, 0-1

Wagner College

7-5, 0-0

California Baptist

Wagner

Photo by: Ryley Collom

CBU Concludes Harvard Invite on Sunday Morning

3/2/2025 3:44:00 PM | Women's Water Polo

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Ryley Collom, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications & Digital Media

CAMBRIDGE, MA--- The California Baptist University women's water polo concluded the Harvard Invite on Sunday morning with a close against #16 Wagner and a blowout of Mercyhurst to finish the weekend 2-2.

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CBU moves to 9-11 overall this season after the weekend split as they concluded their final non-conference matches of the season.

GAME 1 vs WAGNER:

Game one of the day was an early morning matchup against the #16 Seahawks of Wagner. CBU's offense rode the high of the first day and would come out firing on the ranked squad in the first period. The Lancers would net five goals in the opening period and come away with several key defensive stops to hold an early lead over Wagner. CBU's offense did not slow down in the second period as they would slot four more shots into goal to take a 9-7 lead into halftime.

Wagner opened the third period aggressively and would draw the attention of the officials on two separate occasions, leading to penalty shots that they would convert. Kyra Kahahawai would halt the Seahawk momentum with a goal but would be immediately countered by Wagner on the ensuing possession. The Seahawks would grow its lead to 16-13 toward the end of the third period, forcing Julie Snodgrass to huddle up her squad. The timeout once again aided the Lancers as Celeste Almendariz would draw a five-meter penalty that Dora would convert Lehoczky.

Wagner would dominate the beginning of the fourth period to take its largest lead of the game at 19-14. CBU would trim the lead a tad, but it would not be enough as the Seahawks would round out the 21-18 victory. Three Lancers would finish with hat tricks despite the loss, including Kahahawai, Lehoczky, and Almendariz. Kahahawai would be the leader with four goals on seven shots and would also add in a field block. Almendariz would tie the single-game program record with nine drawn exclusions that included drawing a pair of penalties.

GAME 2 vs MERCYHURST:

The final game of the Harvard Invite was a dominant showing from the Lancers that would result in the largest margin of victory for CBU in program history as they battled the Lakers of Mercyhurst. CBU converted 21 goals in the match while only surrendering four, marking the fourth time this season that they have scored 20+ goals in a game.

CBU knocked seven goals through the back of the net in the first period alone and only allowed one goal, which was an own goal. Julia Almendariz was one of the early catalysts of CBU's prolific offense, as she would score twice on the Lakers in the opening eight minutes of play. The offensive production would slow down a tad in the second period, as CBU would only find the back of the net twice. CBU's defense would continue to be smothering as they would not allow a single goal in the second frame.

The offense would jumpstart again in the third period with nine goals as the lead would expand to 18-1. Mercyhurst and CBU would go even in the fourth period with three goals each as CBU would round out the 21-4 lead to conclude their East Coast trip. Four more hat tricks were produced in the victory, including from Madison Haworth, Julia Almendariz, Delilah Moreno, Lehoczky, and Kahahawai.

NEXT: The Lancers will return to California for a Gold Coast Conference matchup in Riverside against the Pacific Tigers on Saturday, March 8.