VISTA, Calif. --- The BU women's water polo team did not disappoint in their opening weekend of competition. The 2024 season began with tough top-25 foes but the Eagles went 1-1 at the Beach Invite. The WWPA conference offices took note of the team's performances and awarded the WWPA Offensive Player of the Week to Veralie Naranjo and the WWPA Defensive Player of the Week to Maria Roldan Gonzalez.

Biola opened its season with a bout against No. 7 Long Beach State on Saturday morning. The BU squad battled early with help from Naranjo's offensive prowess. The junior went to work, scoring five goals in the first half. Four of her five scores came on Biola power plays, including a five-meter penalty shot for the last goal of the second quarter.

On the weekend, Naranjo paced the Eagles with six goals on eight shots. She totaled seven points with an assist in game two. Naranjo also put in significant work to put the team in position to score with six drawn exclusions through the two games.

On the other end, Roldan Gonzalez flexed her skills on defense with three field blocks over the weekend. The most crucial defensive maneuver came in the waning minutes of the team's win over No. 24 Brown. A tie game remained knotted at 10, as a field block from Roldan Gonzalez set up a thrilling finish for BU.

With seven seconds on the clock, Roldan Gonzalez netted the game-winner for the Eagles, sealing the 11-10 win over the Bears. The winning score was her third goal of the game and her fourth of the weekend, adding to her strong start to 2024.

After the team's first win over a ranked opponent, the Eagles maintained their spot in the CWPA top-25 poll with an outright spot at No. 25.

Biola will be back in action on Saturday at the Lancer Joust, facing CSUN at 8:00 am and UCSB at 3:30 pm in Riverside, California.