Box Score
STOCKTON, Calif. --- Biola Women's Water Polo made history on Wednesday afternoon as a 10-8 victory over Long Island University lifted the Eagles into the quarterfinals of the 2023 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championships.

The Eagles' win over LIU makes them the first Western Water Polo Association team to advance to the quarterfinals since UC San Diego did it back in 2019. Head Coach Sarah Orozco's Eagles scored three-straight goals over the final two minutes and 16 seconds to come from behind and seal the victory.

Veralie Naranjo's rocket shot from outside the seven-meter mark turned out to be the game-winner as the sophomore broke an 8-8 tie to put BU back out front with just 1:33 left in the fourth quarter.

Lizzy Birch tacked one on during Biola's final possession to give the team a two-goal lead with only 14 seconds left. Two goals was the widest margin of advantage either team had in this match as the WWPA Champions and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Champions battled back-and-forth throughout.

It was the second meeting of the year between the Eagles and Sharks. The first went in favor of LIU, 16-13, but this time Biola's final push was just enough to give the edge, split the season series and keep the Eagles dancing into the weekend.

Biola scored the first goal of the contest to take the early momentum. The Eagles would either hold the lead or be tied with the Sharks from the 5:39 mark in the first period all the way until there was just three minutes and 55 seconds left in the game.

The Eagles held a 6-5 advantage at the start of the final period of play, but LIU tallied three of the first four scores in the fourth quarter to take their first lead when a Paola Dominguez goal made it 8-7 late. 

Rachel Spadt is the one who tied it up for Biola, scoring on a power play after a Biola timeout. It was the junior's second, and most important, goal in this one.

The power play was friendly to the Eagles as BU managed four scores when they had the one-player advantage. Conversely, LIU was just 1-for-7 when up.

Biola was also the better shooting team as well, scoring on 10 of their 35 shots in their Championship debut. Damaris Kientz played the full 32 minutes in the cage, logging nine saves and holding the Sharks to just 25 percent shooting.



The Eagles' historic win sets up a date with the defending national champions and No. 1 overall seed, Stanford (21-1). That match is scheduled for Friday at noon.

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