RIVERSIDE, Calif. - It wouldn't be a Friday night match without stakes. The Golden Eagles faced off against California Baptist University for the second time this season. The last match against the Lancers was during the Triton Invitational, where Concordia dove into its first overtime match of the season and came out with an 11-10 win. That's not where the familiarity ends. CUI women's water polo coach, Casey Greenwalt served five years as an assistant coach with the men's water polo team at CBU before joining the Golden Eagles in 2022. 

Sticking to the one-point difference theme, the Lancers captured Friday's win over the Golden Eagles with a final score of 11-12. 

The Lancers kept the Golden Eagles at a one-point deficit in the first two periods, but CUI flew past the defense in the third and outscored CBU with four goals. Tamsyn Evezard and Abby Mammen scored the first CUI goals of the day. Not too long after, Melinna Galbraith and Tess Henke made their presence known alongside Perreira who had back-to-back shots in the cage. Entering the fourth, the score was CUI 9 – CBU 10. Tessa Tavaglione scored not one, but two goals in the final moments to get Concordia's overall score to 11 points. 

Senior Andie Perreira, a consistent offensive force for the Golden Eagles, scored three goals to shake the Lancers up. Freshman Tessa Tavaglione won both of her sprints, effectively boosted momentum, and scored three crucial goals.

Goalie Jaden Soto had a total of nine saves, two steals, and a full 32-minutes under her belt. Defensively, Melinna Galbraith and Sofia Dominguez did their parts in slowing down the Lancers offense with a few critical steals.

The Golden Eagles are on the hunt for their next win. Next up is the match against No. 12 LMU on March 28 at 6 pm! 

CLICK HERE for the full 2024 women's water polo schedule.