LOS ANGELES, Calif.—CSU Bakersfield lost a pair of matches to nationally ranked opponents on opening day of the 2015 season Saturday at the UCLA Tournament.
No. 16 Loyola Marymount defeated CSUB 11-10 in the opener. The Lions jump out to 5-3 lead after the first period before the Roadrunners outscored LMU 4-3 in the second. CSU Bakersfield led 9-8 after three complete, but the Lions outscored the 'Runners 3-1 in the fourth quarter for the victory.
Four different CSUB players, Nicola Barrett (R-So., Cape Town, South Africa (Rustenburg HS), Katie Benson (So., La Crescenta, Calif., Crescenta Valley HS), Niki De Leon (Jr., Montebello, Calif., Montebello HS), and Bridgette Souza (R-Sr., La Jolla, Calif. (Sonoma State) each scored two goals.
“We gave up too many goals in the first period,” said CSUB head coach Jason Gall. “We made some nice adjustments to take a one goal lead going into the fourth quarter, but we were unable to convert our fourth quarter opportunities to win the game.”
No. 3 USC defeated the Roadrunners 33-5 in the nightcap. This non-conference match between the two MPSF schools saw the Women of Troy score the most points by a Roadrunner opponent in the 17-year history of the CSUB program. The previous high was 25 which CSUB gave up to UCLA (2007) and Hawai'i (1999).
Freshman Ashley Paz (Upland, Calif., Upland HS) scored two of the 'Runner goals. De Leon drew two ejections and scored one goal.
“With less than a two-hour break after the LMU game, I thought we came out strong in the first quarter and created some good opportunities,” Gall said. “As the game went on, fatigue set in, which made it a tough afternoon. Overall, I think we learned a lot about ourselves today and I looking forward to seeing the improvements that we are going to make as we go through the year.”
CSU Bakersfield travels to the UC Santa Barbara Winter Invitational next week. The five-match tournament begins on Friday against No. 4 California at 4:30 p.m. The Roadrunners open home action Mar. 7 against Arizona State at 1 p.m. Admission is free to the Hillman Aquatics Complex.
~www.GoRunners.com~
MATCH 1
CSUB 3 4 2 1 10
LMU 5 3 0 3 11
CSUB Goals-Barrett 2, Benson 2, De Leon 2, Souza 2, Jenson 1, Paz 1
LMU Goals-Lopez 6, Bock 2, Byrne 1, Alvarez 1, Hill 1,
CSUB Saves-Tyra 6, Wahlstrom 2
LMU Saves-White 5.
MATCH 2
CSUB 1 2 0 2 5
USC 7 6 8 12 33
CSUB Goals-Paz 2, De Leon 1, Helberg 1, Jensen 1.
USC Goals-Vavic 8, I. Haralabidis 5, S. Haralbaidis 5, Games 4, DaBoub 2, Stansfield 2, Daube 4, Appel 1, Bergesen 1, Peterson 1.
CSUB Saves-Wahlstrom 3, Tyra 2
USC Saves-Chamorro 3.
