LOS ANGELES, Calif.--- Biola Men's Water Polo battled La Verne through regulation and two overtime periods before the Leopards scored in sudden death to hand the Eagles a 15-14 loss Friday at the Gary Troyer Tournament.
Noah Ryznar powered the Eagles with six goals and an assist, while Ryan Previch delivered two clutch goals in the first overtime, including the equalizer with just one second remaining to extend the match.
Biola struck first behind Gavin Starling, who connected on a power play with 5:39 remaining in the opening quarter. Ryznar followed off an assist from goalkeeper Cooper Smith to give the Eagles a 2-0 advantage before La Verne answered late in the period.Â
The back-and-forth battle continued in the second. Ryznar and Starling scored 23 seconds apart to give BU a 4-2 lead before the Leopards responded with two straight goals. Kevin Slack put Biola back in front on a power play off a feed from Kacper Landowski, but La Verne found the equalizer with 12 seconds remaining to send the teams into halftime tied 5-5.
The Leopards created the first significant separation of the match in the third quarter, scoring three unanswered goals to build an 8-5 advantage. Ryznar quickly brought Biola back into it, converting a five-meter penalty before scoring again just 35 seconds later to cut the deficit to one. La Verne added the final goal of the period to take a 9-7 lead into the fourth.
Biola answered every La Verne push in the final period. Xander Trevitt opened the quarter with a goal before Ryznar connected on the power play to tie the match at 9-9. Micah Hernandez later evened the score at 10-10, and Ryznar struck again to make it 11-11.
After La Verne moved back in front, Landon Heuer provided another response. Heuer finished off a feed from Ryznar with 47 seconds remaining to tie the match at 12-12 and force overtime.
The Leopards scored twice early in the first overtime to build a 14-12 lead, but Previch took over late. He scored on the power play off an assist from Kyle Seifen with 1:19 remaining before delivering again with just one second left, tying the match at 14-14 and forcing a second overtime.
Neither side scored in the second overtime, sending the match into a third extra period in sudden death. La Verne ended the marathon on a five-meter penalty to secure the 15-14 decision.Â
Ryznar finished with six goals on nine shots and added an assist. Previch and Starling each scored twice, while Slack, Trevitt, Heuer and Hernandez contributed one goal apiece.
Seifen made an impact on both ends of the pool, recording a team-high three assists and six steals. Smith and Igor Pinheiro split time in goal, combining for 10 saves. Smith finished with six saves, two steals and an assist, while Pinheiro added four saves.
Biola continues play today at the Gary Troyer Tournament.
Â
