LOS ANGELES, Calif. --- Biola Men's Water Polo rewrote its record book Friday afternoon.
The Eagles poured in a program-record 34 goals in a 34-2 victory over Caltech at De Mandel Aquatics Center during the Gary Troyer Tournament, surpassing the previous single-game program mark of 25 set during Biola's 2023 WWPA Championship run.
Biola scored the first eight goals of the contest to wrap things up in the early going.
Micah Hernandez was at the center of the early avalanche. Hernandez scored twice in the opening 68 seconds before Gavin Starling followed with a goal of his own. Hernandez completed his hat trick with 5:59 still remaining in the first period to put the Eagles ahead 4-0.
The scoring kept coming.
Biola found the cage nine times in the opening quarter to carry a 9-1 advantage into the second. Wildly, the Eagles accelerated from there, scoring the first 10 goals of the second period.
Kyle Seifen, Starling and Hernandez struck within the first minute of the frame, and the Eagles continued to find scoring from nearly every spot in the pool. Biola took a commanding 19-1 lead before Caltech scored with one second remaining in the half to get their second score.
That would be the final goal Biola conceded.
The Eagles shut out Caltech 9-0 in the third quarter and 6-0 in the fourth, ending the afternoon with 15 unanswered goals and a 34-2 final.
The 34 goals shattered Biola's previous record by nine, while the Eagles' efficiency was just as impressive. BU converted 34 of its 44 shots for a .773 shooting percentage, also surpassing the program's previously listed single-game mark of .759.
There was no shortage of contributors to the historic performance.
Eighteen different Eagles found the back of the cage and nine recorded multiple goals.
Hernandez put together the most complete offensive line with four goals and three assists for seven points while also adding two steals. Starling was perfect on the afternoon, scoring four goals on four attempts, and Noah Ryznar joined the pair with four goals of his own.
Colton Brown added three goals and two assists, while Kacper Landowski, Jayden Rose, Aiden Ortiz, Ayden Cisneros and Carson Crocket each scored twice.
The domination extended beyond the scoring column. Landon Heuer wreaked havoc defensively with six steals, while Biola's goalkeeping tandem allowed just two goals on 19 Caltech attempts. Maddox Levandusky collected nine saves over 24 minutes before Igor Pinheiro closed the final eight minutes with two more stops.
The result gives Biola a definitive new entry atop its young record book. The previous 25-goal standard had stood since Nov. 17, 2023, when the Eagles defeated Mercyhurst 25-6 on their way to the program's first WWPA Championship.
Biola continues the Gary Troyer Tournament on Saturday with two more contests in Claremont. The Eagles face California Baptist at 1:30 p.m. before closing the day against Pomona-Pitzer at 5:15 p.m.
