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2023 MWP WWPA CHAMPS IN THE POOL
18
Winner Biola BU (20-12)
12
Concordia CUI (12-16)
Winner
Biola BU
(20-12)
18
Final
12
Concordia CUI
(12-16)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Biola BU 2 6 6 4 18
Concordia CUI 4 2 3 3 12

Game Recap: Men's Water Polo | | Ethan McGarvey, Sports Information Director

Goal Accomplished, Crown Acquired

Biola men’s water polo was victorious on Sunday, earning the title of WWPA Champions.


O'FALLON, Ill. --- The Eagles made history with their first WWPA Championship on Sunday. The team ran through tournament play and defeated Concordia in the championship match by an 18-12 margin. 

Biola Men's Water Polo, led by Head Coach Rick Nordell, delivered in the biggest moments to take the 2023 conference crown. The BU squad boasted a 28-goal differential throughout the tournament and never trailed in the second half through all three rounds.

The dominance from the Eagles led to multiple All-Tournament Team selections. Joshua Halopoff led the way with an MVP and first team selection after notching a tournament-high of 10 goals. Caleb Hernandez and Nick Murray added to the first team nods for Biola, while Roman Saroyan was tabbed as second team all-tournament.

"First of all, Glory be to the Lord for this win and for this team he's put together for me," said Nordell. "Last year when they started realigning the league, this became our goal. All year long it's been 'eyes on November'. We are soaking in the moment of winning a championship. We hadn't even been to championship game yet, so to be here and to win is awesome."

Biola did not open up championship Sunday how they would have liked, falling behind in the first quarter. CUI attacked the cage and placed two goals in the first three minutes of the contest. The Golden Eagles landed four goals in the opening period, leading BU 4-2. 

Joshua Halopoff brought BU back into the fold with back-to-back scores in the second quarter. The two-point deficit was erased with a power play goal and a penalty shot from the standout senior. Just before that game-tying tally from Halopoff Mitchell Carpenter had the first big moment of the day as he stopped a five-meter penalty shot with a huge block to hold CUI at six goals. The block and ensuing Biola score sent the big Biola traveling contingent of fans into a frenzy.

The momentum carried through the halftime buzzer, as Maxwell Osborn scored the next goal to give Biola its first lead of the day. In the final moments of the first half, BU created separation, by taking advantage of more CUI exclusions. Caleb Hernandez found the back of the net with a penalty shot with 1:30 on the clock and Nick Murray followed with a power play score in the team's final possession of the second quarter, creating a 8-6 lead for the Eagles at the half.

Exclusions played a major role in Sunday's contest with 16 CUI exclusions leading to eight Biola goals.

The rally continued after the short halftime break. The first two shots to dent the twine of the cage in the second half came from Biola. Two goals to kick off the second half, extended BU's scoring run to 4-0 over a four-minute stretch. BU added to its lead later in the third with a flurry of three goals. John Grasso, Hernandez, and Osborn each scored goals in successive possessions for three goals in one minute of game action. 

A 6-3 third quarter pushed the Biola lead to 14-9 with just eight minutes between them and the championship. In the fourth, the Eagles maximized their lead at seven and cruised into the final buzzer, boasting an 18-12 victory.

Halopoff continued his tear in the pool, grabbing his second-straight game with four goals. The total made for his third four-goal game in his last four matches and increased his tournament total to 10 tallies. Hernandez and Nolan Rapp led the team in points on Sunday with six each. Hernandez delivered three goals and three assists, while Rapp sank two shots and dished out four helpers. 

"It feels incredible. All these guys worked all year long. We wanted this moment, we got this moment. All these guys really deserve it," said Halopoff.

Murray added three goals for himself, as six Eagles tallied multiple goals including Hernandez, Rapp, Grasso, Osborn, Halopoff and Murray. Mitchell Carpenter grabbed eight saves in the cage for BU. The goalkeeper logged all 32 minutes on the way to the win in the championship game.

With the conference crown, the Eagles also earned a spot at the NCAA National Championships. Biola will face No. 1 seed UCLA (24-2) at noon on December 1 at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center in Los Angeles. 

"This is huge. Being a third-year program and to take home the championship that close in is awesome and has been great," said Rapp.
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