CLAREMONT, Calif.--- Biola Men's Water Polo closed out the Gary Troyer Tournament on Saturday evening with a 13-9 loss to Pomona-Pitzer at Haldeman Pool.
Pomona-Pitzer, ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division III, jumped out to an early advantage with five unanswered goals in the opening quarter. The Eagles settled in from there and responded with a stronger second period.Â
Noah Ryznar put Biola on the board with 4:35 remaining in the second quarter off an assist from Kacper Landowski. Ivan Tkach followed just over a minute later off a feed from Jake Burns before Kevin Slack found the back of the cage on an assist from Aiden Ortiz. The three-goal quarter helped Biola cut the deficit to 6-3 at halftime.
The teams traded goals throughout the third. Pomona-Pitzer opened the period on the power play before Ortiz answered with an extra-man goal off an assist from Ryan Previch. After another Sagehen score, Xander Trevitt connected off a feed from Slack to bring the Eagles within three at 8-5.
Pomona-Pitzer added the final goal of the quarter to carry a 9-5 advantage into the fourth.
Biola continued to battle in the final eight minutes, matching the Sagehens with four goals in the quarter. Ryznar led the charge, scoring three times in the period. He found the back of the cage just 40 seconds into the fourth off an assist from Gavin Starling before striking again at the 5:39 mark on a feed from Landon Heuer.
Heuer added a goal of his own with 2:09 remaining off an assist from Carson Crocket, and Ryznar capped his four-goal performance with a power-play goal off a feed from Jayden Rose with 46 seconds left.
Ryznar led Biola with four goals on six shots, including three in the fourth quarter. Tkach, Slack, Ortiz, Trevitt and Heuer each added one goal. Seven different Eagles recorded an assist in the match.Â
Cooper Smith played the first three quarters in goal and recorded four saves, while Igor Pinheiro added two saves over the final eight minutes.
Biola returns to action Friday, Oct. 9 at Fresno Pacific for its WWPA opener.
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