Courtesy: Cal Baptist Athletics
The Lancers bring a 34-woman roster into the new year after they lost just three regular contributors from last season. CBU will need to rely on its veteran core to lead it through what is shaping up to be its most difficult season yet, with 12 of its games coming against top-25 teams from 2020.
“We are definitely deep and deep with experience, which is nice. We were able to get a ton of girls a lot of minutes last year, and we return five of our seven starters from last year,” Coach Jon Miller said. “We are positioned well to make a good run in the conference and be competitive with the schedule that we have. We can go six-in and six-out at most of our positions, which is luxury to have in a year like this. We will have to be ready to do that.”
CBU ended 2020 ranked No. 25 in the NCAA. The Lancers were off to their best start since 2005, with a 13-4 record in 2020 before the season came to an early end due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Everyone is more than ready to get out and compete,” Miller said. “Practices have been good, high intensity as we get ready for that first game. We have a lot of continuity with who we return from last year, and it helps that we had the majority of the team here in the fall training together. We had the fall to get back in the swing things after having the whole summer off. They’re ready and waiting to play.”
Kira O’Donell and Grace Ramirez return to lead the offense and defense, respectively, again in 2021. They are two of 10 seniors on the roster this year.
Ramirez is a two-time All-Golden Coast Conference selection and NCAA All-American, including honorable mention in Division I in 2020. She gives the Lancers one of the best goalies in the conference, as she’s logged 601 saves and 126 steals over 69 games in the last three years.
O’Donell is a two-time NCAA All-American and the 2018 Golden Coast Conference Newcomer of the Year. She compiled 44 goals and 60 points over just 17 games last season to lead the Lancers in both categories. The attacker comes into this season ranking No. 13 in CBU history in career goals (157) and No. 17 in career points (234), despite only having two-and-a-half seasons under her belt.
“We know what we can count on from Grace and Kira, it helps contribute to the stability of the group,” Miller said. “Whenever you have someone capable of scoring five or six goals a game and someone who can make anywhere from 15-20 saves a game, you definitely lean on then, but we also have girls who had big breakout years last year and who can step up. We know it starts with Kira and Grace on offense and defense, but we have a lot of solid players who can step up this year.”
There is depth at every position again this year. Vicky Martinez, Maddie Schwegler and Nicole Rhoads give the Lancers three strong options at center. The trio combined for 47 goals last year, with each scoring at least 10 in just 17 games.
It’s a similar story of depth at two-meter defender. Senior Madison East is set to lead the group and redshirt junior Katie Fugit is set to return from an injury that held her out last year, while junior Kyndall Burrell is set for a breakout season. Fugit ranked third for the Lancers in points in 2019, with 55 on 38 goals and 17 assists and was also responsible for a six-goal and five-steal game that season.
“We have three quality center defenders who can switch out based on our opponent and what we need in that game or matchup wise – they all play different styles,” Miller said.
Along with O’Donell, CBU has plenty of options at attacker with seniors Krista Krantz, Amy Branch, Morgan Baker, Megan Henry and junior Jamie Hutton.
“They all stepped up in different games last year and played important roles for us,” Miller said. “They will be key to balancing out our team and putting together good season.”
Branch is expected to anchor the four-five side, as the lefthander led the Lancers in scoring percentage last year with goals on 63 percent of her shots (17-27). She also ranked third on the team with 35 points (18 assists, 17 goals).
On one-two side, Krantz is an experienced veteran with 82 games played in her career. Baker is a two-way player who appears poised for a breakout season, as well. Hutton is also back for her junior season after earning GCC All-Freshmen Team recognition in 2019 and ranking second for CBU with 36 points in 2020.
“Jamie was solid for us last year and had a great freshmen year,” Miller said. “We are counting on her to be one of our primary goal scorers this year, she’s one of our best outside shooters.”
Several other attackers are competing for time in the pool after impressive debut seasons, as Miller highlighted Melinna Galbraith, Caelan Loroff and Nikkol Webber.
With this bevy of options, lineups may not always look alike from game-to-game as matchups may determine who gets moved up in the rotation. Ultimately, CBU will look to separate itself from its opposition with its depth this year.
“Our role players will determine if we can compete for a GCC championship,” Miller said. “They are more than capable, it’s just a matter of consistency game in and game out.”