Box Score
LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola Men's Water Polo earned its first victory in program history as the Eagles took down Westcliff 12-8 on Wednesday afternoon at Splash! Aquatic Center. 

With the win over the Warriors, Biola (1-4) improves to 1-1 against Westcliff (1-4), bouncing back from a 10-7 loss to the Warriors in the second game of the season. Eight Eagles scored goals in the first home contest of the year while three scored two or more goals. 

Head Coach Rick Nordell could not be more proud of his team's efforts.

"Our scoring has been very balanced, we don't rely on just one guy," said Nordell. He was sure to acknowledge that the defense is what allows his offense to perform the way they did. "Our defense is starting to buy into our system and a big part of that is trusting each other."

Not only did the Eagles take the win, but unlike the first time the two teams faced off, Biola was able to outscore the Warriors in the first three quarters of the game which proved to be the difference. 

"Getting a win in our first home game was a great feeling," commented Nordell. "We relied on our scouting report from the first time we played them and the guys made some really great adjustments to get the win."

Biola opened the scoring as Will Tibbetts found the back of the cage for the first of three goals on the day. Tibbetts was perfect from the field, scoring three goals on three attempts. He also added two steals and drew one exclusion. 

The Eagles and Warriors exchanged goals to tie the game 2-2 before Biola scored the game's first back-to-back goals. Biola added to its total to end the first period and converted on a power play in the second period for the 4-2 lead. 

Westcliff would answer BU's efforts with back-to-back goals of its own to tie the contest at 4-4. 

Goals from Matthew Vinson, Nolan Rapp (2), and Dominic Hidalgo-Valecillo gave Biola an 8-4 before Westcliff would score its fifth goal of the contest with just over two minutes remaining in the third period. 

Defensively, Biola was lead by Nolan Rapp with three steals while the team collected 10 steals on the day. 

Mitchell Carpenter was solid in the cage for Nordell as the freshman recorded 10 saves for a .556 save percentage. Today's 10 saves give Carpenter four straight games with double-digit saves totaling for saves during the stretch and 54 total saves on the season. The freshman is currently second in the Western Water Polo Association, averaging 10.8 saves-per-game. He's also top-5 in save percentage.

"Mitchell allows us to run some different looks on defense," said Nordell. "He's been great for us in the cage."

The Eagles are back in action on Thursday as they host #9 UC San Diego (5-2) in their first conference match of the year. The opening sprint is set for 1 p.m. at Splash Aquatic Center.