The Cubs played at 7:00 in the evening today against the Orange Lutheran Lancers. This was the first home game that the Cubs played in the USC pool, where the team holds some of their biggest home matchups.

Quarter 1

The Cubs win the opening sprint but use up the entire shot clock without getting a shot off. A steal from Vavic eventually leads to a goal on the inside from Agliozzo to mark the first goal of the game. On the next possession the Cubs get a golden chance but fail to double their tally. The Cubs look awesome defensively, though, and are clearly making it a point to get out in transition. This earns the Cubs an exclusion, but the team fails to score even with the man advantage. The Cubs continue the trend of stealing the ball and getting out to earn a penalty. Vavic takes the penalty and convert to score their second. The Cubs follow the penalty by continuing their defensive prowess despite going down a man due to exclusion. The Cubs have a fruitless offensive possession, but the Lancers take a dumb shot that allows Mueller to outlet the ball to what becomes the third score of the frame. Out of the goal, however, the Cubs do finally have a mental lapse defensively and allow the Lancers to skip one past the keeper. Straight from the conceded goal, the Cubs have a shot hit the post but earn an ejection. While they have a man advantage, they again take a shot that ricochets off of the post before the Lancers regain possession. The Cubs outlet the ball from the back with ten seconds left in the quarter but have barely enough time to push a fourth score past the Lancer keeper.

Score 4-1

Quarter 2

Winning the opening sprint, the Cubs again come out for an offensive possession. They do the same thing as the first quarter, however as they use up the entire clock without registering a shot. A steal on the defensive end finds its way to Agliozzo who gets another goal past the Orange Lutheran goalie. The Orange Lutheran guard make a nifty move, but Mueller comes up with a big save to prevent the goal. Straight off the save, the Cubs suffer an exclusion but don’t concede in their time of disadvantage. The Cubs fail to register a shot offensively the next possession but prove that they still have it defensively as they block a shot the second it leaves one of the Lancers guard’s hands. The Cubs get the ball to Agliozzo who sneaks one past the Lancer keeper for the Cubs to expand their lead. The Lancers give away the ball quickly but send the subsequent shot over the bar. The Cubs again prove that their defense is solid as the Lancers can’t get a shot off. The Cubs get the ball up the pool for Hale to finish the play and give the Cubs their seventh goal of the half. The Cubs press hard out of the goal, and force the opposition into another possession without a look at the Cubs’ goal. Vavic gets inside to force a penalty which Kranz converts for the seven-goal lead. The Lancers throw the ball away, and the Cubs show that they are not wasting chances as Hale slides one by the Orange Lutheran goalie. The Lancers come out of the goal with a vengeance, though, and score for the second time of the game with a beautiful bar-in shot. The Cubs suffer an exclusion but a clutch save by Engstrom prevents a certain goal.  

Score 9-2

Quarter 3

Out of the opening sprint, the Cubs again shown their speed by winning the ball for the opening possession. They waste the chance, however, as they throw the ball away quickly. The Cubs steal the ball back quickly but Agliozzo finds himself double teamed and turns the ball over. The Cubs and Lancers trade empty offensive possessions where neither team is able to create even a semblance of a chance to score. A nice turn from Engstrom leaves the defender in the dust leading to an Agliozzo goal on the far side of the goal. The Cubs steal the ball back quickly off of the goal and Kranz converts the steal into a score on the left side of the keeper. The Lancers send a pass deep that forces the Cubs to commit a foul and take an ejection. Upon the exclusion of a Cub, the Lancer head coach takes a quick timeout. Straight out of the timeout, the Cubs suffer a goal after a nice bar-in to the top left corner of the Loyola goal. The Cubs work the ball in nicely, but Reynolds fails to convert the chance due to a solid save from the Lancer keeper. Kranz comes down the other way and embarrasses both the defender and the keeper as he scores another Cub goal. The Lancers get a wonderful chance to score, but Mueller makes a nice save to prevent the goal. The Cubs commit another offensive foul that leaves the far post wide open for the Lancers to score again. The Cubs lose the ball on the offensive end and suffer an exclusion. They stay stout defensively and keep the Lancers from even taking a shot as the time runs out in the quarter.

Score 12-4

Quarter 4

The Cubs win the fourth and final sprint to again afford them the first chance to score of the quarter. They don’t, however, and the Lancers get an easy chance off a pass to the far post that finds the net. The Cubs come out of the goal and earn themselves a penalty that Vavic scores. THe CUbs take an exclusion straight out of the goal, but don’t concede despite the number disadvantage. The Cubs waste the ball on the offensive end and don’t get a shot off, but the Lancers aren’t much better as they shoot one straight into the arms of the keeper Mueller. It looks like the Cubs have started possession polo as they run all the time off the clock. The Cubs again lapse defensively, however, when they take another exclusion. The Cubs concede the fourth goal placed in the top left corner. The Cubs waste another possession offensively and suffer another exclusion defensively. This time, the team manages to maintain the keep the ball out of the net. The Cubs work the ball around but commit an offensive foul and receive an ejection immediately after. A big stop from Mueller keeps the Cubs from conceding the seventh goal of the opposition. The Cubs are starting to abuse the clock as they use up the entirety of it playing keep away. The Cubs put away the game without conceding any more goals.

Score 13-6

Post Game

After the game, Coach Erik Healy commented, “I think we had a strong start. We put away a lot of high percentage shots at the beginning of the game… which helped us build our confidence. The defense was also very good as we were 80% on 5 man.” He further elaborated that the team could improve in “3-on-2 and 2-on-1 situations” as they wasted numerous opportunities of the sort throughout the match. Last, Healy said, “We came out strong which helped us build confidence both in the offense and on the defensive end.”