RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Chaminade University men's soccer team was looking to end the series against California Baptist with a stunning finish.
And for a while, the upset was on. But in the end, the high powered Lancers offense proved too much.
CBU, ranked sixth in the nation and boasting the nation's highest scoring offense, fell behind then scored three straight goals for a 3-1 win over the Silverswords to conclude the six-year rivalry which began in 2012. The Lancers are departing for the Division I ranks next season.
Chaminade, which defeated California Baptist for the first time ever last year in Honolulu, fell to 2-6-1 overall and 1-5-1 in the Pacific West Conference.
The Lancers, whose 3.30 goal per game average is tops in Division II, improved to 9-0-2 and 5-0-1 in the conference.
A free kick after a CBU misconduct foul in the 19
th minute resulted in a scrum of players in front of the Lancers' goal.
Micah Mokulehua (Waimanalo, Hawai'i/Kaiser) then touched it to
Curtis Coburn (Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach) who powered it into the goal to give the 'Swords the 1-0 lead and his first goal of the year. It was also the first time this year the Lancers have trailed in a match.
But their lead was short-lived as CBU got the equalizer four minutes later on Junior Guerra's goal. The Lancers then went ahead on Joey Chica's goal a minute later.
The 'Swords had several chances to tie it again in the waning minutes of the first half but several shots were off-target including one from
Tyler Ebisuya (Kaneohe, Hawai'i/Iolani) that just trickled two feet wide of the net.
In the second half, the Lancers got an insurance goal. But despite the score, CUH's defense, along with goalkeeper
Bernd Buescherhoff (Steinfeld, Germany/Gymnasium Lohne) kept CBU's Aidan Apodaca, the nation's leading goal-scorer with 19, off the scoreboard for just the second time this season.
The Silverswords will conclude their road trip Saturday at conference newcomer Biola.
