MERCED, Calif. — An 11-5 victory over UC Merced on Saturday allowed Biola Men's Water Polo to hold on to its unblemished 2025 Western Water Polo Association record. Head Coach Jens Cole's boys improved to 3-0 and completed a perfect first round of WWPA Western Division play with smooth success on Saturday.
This matchup was the first time Biola and UC Merced played in a contest that would count towards the teams' league record. It was the fourth overall meeting between the two sides and Biola's fourth win.
The six-goal victory was the Eagles' second-largest ever over the Bobcats, after playing two matches to a closer margin than that in 2024. This is a positive sign for the BU team.
Biola built this win off a hot start, scoring the first five goals of the game. Xander Trevitt continued his hot streak by scoring two of those first five goals. Biola's defense, with Joshua Dachenhausen at the centerpiece, held the hosting Bobcats scoreless for the first 13-and-a-half minutes of this one.
Another critical point in the game came late in the third and early in the fourth as Biola used another long run of four unanswered goals to take its 6-4 lead and make it 10-4. Four different BU players scored during that stretch, which included two of the five powerplay goals Biola scored in this one.
The Eagles won three of the four sprints, which helped them to some extra possessions. Those possessions were beneficial as the BU offense was not converting at its most efficient rate in this match, shooting just 30 percent.
Trevitt's three goals led the way, while he and Caden Digby (2g, 1a) tied for the team lead with three points a piece. Noah Ryznar also found the back of the net twice as a key contributor. Dachenhausen finished the match with 9 saves over 30 or so minutes played.
The win is Biola's third in the last four outings and gets the team up to seven on the season with four regular-season matches left. Double figures are now square in the team's sight as it seeks to finish the season strong.
Biola hosts a scrimmage this week with Cuesta College. Plan to join us at Splash! At 12 p.m., as that match cannot be live-streamed. After that, BU will have its most important regular season match of the year when it visits Concordia at their place on Halloween night.
