LA JOLLA, Calif.--- Biola Men's Water Polo wrapped up its regular season Thursday night against nationally-ranked No. 10 UC San Diego, falling 15-7 at Canyonview Aquatic Center in its final tune-up before the WWPA Championships.
UC San Diego opened the match with three unanswered goals before Micah Hernandez put the Eagles on the board with a power-play goal at 3:03 off a feed from Ryder Imbriani. The Tritons answered, but Noah Ryznar converted another extra-man opportunity with 1:03 remaining to cut the deficit to 4-2 after one.
"Part of it was fighting against a really good team and kind of seeing where we're at the, at the best of levels," said Head Coach
Jens Cole.
Biola pulled even closer just 25 seconds into the second quarter. Hernandez scored his second of the night off an assist from Jayden Rose, bringing the Eagles within one at 4-3.
The Tritons responded with the decisive stretch of the game, scoring six unanswered goals to create separation. Biola answered late in the half as Rose found the back of the cage off a Jake Burns assist with 1:55 remaining. Carson Crocket followed with a power-play goal with 30 seconds left, also set up by Burns.
UC San Diego added one more with 12 seconds remaining to take a 12-5 advantage into halftime.
Biola settled in defensively after the break, limiting the nationally-ranked Tritons to just three goals over the final 16 minutes. Gavin Starling accounted for the Eagles' third-quarter goal off a Hernandez assist, while UC San Diego scored twice to take a 14-6 lead into the fourth.
"We held them to three goals in the second half, which was a big thing for us. We felt like we gave way too many in the second quarter, and we kind of buckled down and refocused on committing to our defensive schemes," Cole said.
The Eagles held UC San Diego to one goal in the final period. Rose closed out Biola's scoring with an extra-man goal at the 1:25 mark off a feed from Kyle Seifen.
Hernandez and Rose led the Eagles with two goals and an assist apiece. Burns handed out a team-high two assists, while Ryznar, Crocket and Starling each added a goal. Imbriani and Seifen also recorded assists.
Biola converted four power-play opportunities on the night. Defensively, Kevin Slack finished with two steals and two blocks, while Rose added two steals. Igor Pinheiro played all 32 minutes in the cage and recorded nine saves.
"I think the win is the fact that we earned 12 six on fives and two penalties against a top-10 team in the country. So, offensive efficiency and opportunity was there. We just have to find ways to convert those looks," Cole said.
Biola concluded the regular season at 14-16 and now turns its attention to the WWPA Championships, which the Eagles will host in La Mirada from Nov. 20-22.
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