The Lancers defeated the Sunbirds 3-1 on the road, playing through some tense moments in the second half to get the win.
"Getting a hard fought win like this against a solid team is a great way to start the conference season," said CBU Head Coach Kristen St. Clair. "We did a great job playing through the ebbs and flows of the game even when things got difficult in the second half. Overall I thought we created some great scoring opportunities throughout the entire game."
CBU dominated the pace of play and possession in the opening half, going up 2-0 before the break.
Lindsay Vesling assisted on a pair of goals for the Lancers as CBU out-shot the Sunbirds 13-3 and got six balls on target in the first period.
Vesling fed Daelyn Paul right in front of the goal for an open look in the 25th minute for the first score of the game. Just over seven minutes late Vesling volleyed a ball to Bernadette Witz near the top of the box, who buried a one-touch shot out of the air and off the post.
Witz and Paul both have three goals on the season. Vesling has three assists this year.
"Lindsay played great for us tonight," said St. Clair. "She did a good job controlling the tempo of the game and helping us expose their defense when we got chances."
The comfortable 2-0 cushion didn't last, however, as FPU found the back of the net in the 64th minute. Haley Tallon scored her first goal of the season on the third shot of the half taken by the Sunbirds.
The score came after CBU keeper Rosie Nakata had already made a brilliant save on a one-on-one opportunity.
Three more strikes from the home team would miss the mark before Kimberly Allard sealed the win with her first goal of the season in the 87th minute. Kelly Jenks assisted on the score.
Jenks headed the ball forward, breaking Allard lose to beat just the goalkeeper for the score.
"We're playing better every game," said St. Clair. "The goal is to just keep improving and keep working hard. It's a long season."
The 3-1 win gives CBU six goals in their last two games. The Lancers had given up four goals in their opening two games and have since held Claremont Mudd-Scripps and FPU to a goal apiece.
The Lancers move to 2-1-1 overall, 1-0 PacWest with the win. CBU continues conference play Saturday in Oakland, facing Holy Names.
