PROVIDENCE, R.I. --- With their long, entangled history, Biola Men's Water Polo knows exactly how dangerous Salem can be. Sunday morning, the Eagles showed they could absorb the Tigers' best punch and answer it.
Biola built a seven-goal halftime advantage, survived a furious Salem rally and steadied itself in the fourth quarter to earn a 15-12 neutral-site victory at the Harvard Invitational.
Although the matchup did not count in the WWPA standings, it carried plenty of conference weight. Biola was picked second and Salem third in the preseason WWPA coaches poll, and their recent history has repeatedly spilled into the postseason.
Salem won the programs' first three meetings, including a 19-18 WWPA semifinal in 2024, before Biola eliminated the defending champion Tigers 15-14 in last season's conference tournament. Sunday's win gives the Eagles consecutive victories in the series and their first regular-season win over Salem. Every meeting between the programs has been played at a neutral site.
Biola controlled the opening half, putting five goals on the board in the first quarter before shutting Salem out in the second. The 9-2 halftime margin gave Head Coach
Jens Cole's team substantial breathing room. It needed nearly all of it.
Salem erupted for seven third-quarter goals, outscoring Biola 7-3 and reducing what had been a commanding advantage to 12-9. The Tigers carried that momentum into the fourth, scoring twice more to get within 12-11 and suddenly turning the morning into a one-goal game.
Biola did not unravel.
The Eagles held Salem scoreless for nearly four minutes after the margin reached one and then created the separation they needed.
Noah Ryznar,
Kyle Seifen and
Gavin Starling each scored during the closing stretch as Biola accounted for three of the game's final four goals. The Eagles scored three times in every quarter after their five-goal opening period, including three in the fourth to finish off the win.
Seifen the supersenior was everywhere.
The Eagles' utility man finished with a goal, six assists and two field blocks, directly contributing to seven of Biola's 15 goals. His six assists tied Biola's single-game record.Â
It was another milestone in a career increasingly prominent in Biola's record book. Seifen entered the Harvard weekend already third on the program's career assists list and had also recently moved past the former career games-played record of 129. His six helpers Sunday push him close to 100 career assists.
Ryznar supplied a team-high three goals along with two assists, while
Ivan Tkach,
Xander Trevitt and Starling scored twice apiece. Biola also received an important performance in the cage from
Igor Pinheiro, who played all 32 minutes and made 11 saves, matching the Eagles' season-high total for a goalkeeper.Â
The Salem matchup was the third of four games for Biola at the Harvard Invitational The Eagles look finish a perfect weekend later on Sunday against LIU at 11:30 a.m. PT (2:30 p.m. ET) in Providence.
