The California Baptist University women's soccer team dropped its first Western Athletic Conference match on Saturday, as the Lancers fell to the Wolverines of Utah Valley, 2-0.
The Lancers are now 10-3-1 on the season and 3-1-0 in conference play. The win for the Wolverines moves them to 7-6-1 overall and 2-1-0 in the WAC. CBU moves into second in the conference standings, while Seattle U takes the top spot at 3-0-1.
The entire 90 minutes was filled with excitement from start to finish as both teams came out playing with pace.
UVU set the tone in the opening minutes, maintaining possession and keeping the pressure on the Lancers' backline with a couple of early shots.
CBU returned the favor, as possession was kept in chunks. The Lancers held the ball for nearly 10 minutes and kept possession in the attacking half of the field.
Rola Badawiya was able to fire off the first quality shot of the match, but the 1-on-1 opportunity would sail a bit outside the net.
Rola Badawiya almost finds the back of the net in the 12th minute against Utah Valley!
The Wolverines were on the move with just under three minutes before the break, and the ball was crossed inside the box, finding the hip of a Wolverine player. The deflection was able to trickle inside the far post for the first goal of the game.
Utah Valley went into the half with a 1-0 lead.
Coming out of the break, the Wolverines had another good look on frame, but the Lancers' backline and keeper Romy Salvador did well to keep the game within a score.
Couple big defensive stops from the Lancers' backline and keeper Romy Salvador to keep this a one-goal game!
Momentum started to shift for the Lancers, and the attack began to build 10 minutes into the second half. Badawiya was able to beat her defender outside the box and draw a foul for the first set-piece of the half. Badawiya tried to bend one over the keeper's head, but the ball hit the crossbar and bounced out.
Badawiya has a great look on this set-piece, but the ball hits the top of the crossbar and bounces out!
Lancers in the hunt for their first goal of the game!
Each time the Lancers seemed to knock on the door, the Wolverines were right there to answer. At the 64th minute, Salvador came up big for the Lancers, recording her fifth save of the night after a ball bounced around in the box and was fired to the far left side of the net.
Romy Salvador continues to come up big for the Lancers! She's up to five saves on the night!
UVU was finally able to break through six minutes later, scoring its second goal to distance itself from the Lancers.
CBU wouldn't go down without a fight, though, as the Lancers poured in shots up until the final whistle.