LONG BEACH, Calif. — All seasons have to begin somewhere, so why not face the best? Biola Women's Water Polo had the chance to open its 2025 campaign on Saturday in a battle with perennial powerhouse and 6-time national champion No. 3 USC.

The Trojans looked every bit as formidable in the pool as they do on paper en route to a 21-6 victory over coach Sarah Ramirez' Biola Eagles. The Eagles turned the ball over without a shot in 11 of its first 12 possessions, helping USC cruise to a quick start.


USC won all four sprints in the match and managed to out-shoot the Eagles 32-22 while holding BU scoreless for much of the first three periods. The Eagles showed some resilience in the fourth quarter as the team converted five times to win the period 5-3 and bring the score just that much closer. That was a nice reversal from the first period, where the scoring favored USC 9-0. 

In the losing effort, Stephanie Rodriguez stood out as she lifted the lid on her sophomore campaign. She had two goals and added an assist to be involved in half of the Eagles' scoring on the afternoon.

Newcomer Savannah Rapp was the other Biolan who found her way into both the goal and assist columns. The freshman from La Habra scored once and assisted another for a multi-point performance. 

The Trojans built the lead out to 11-0 at the start of the second frame, until Salma Orozco was able to be the one to dent the twine for the Eagles. Her goal was the lone offensive bright spot until the fourth quarter.

Biola made six of its eight shots in the fourth quarter, including its last shot of the game as the Eagles' goalie made a buzzer-beater. 

The loss drops Biola to 0-1 on the season and sets up a matchup with another NCAA Division I program later Saturday evening at the Long Beach Mini Invite. BU will look to clean up its 20+ turnovers from this game as they continue to grow into this 2025 season. CSUF is 2-0, opening its year with big wins over CSU Monterey Bay and Ottawa (AZ).