CLAREMONT, Calif. --- Biola Men's Water Polo scored the first 11 goals of the match and never looked back, rolling to an 18-4 victory over Occidental on Saturday morning at Axelrood Aquatics Center.
The Eagles came out firing with six unanswered goals in the opening quarter. Noah Ryznar got things started just 27 seconds into the match and struck again on a penalty shot to quickly give Biola a 2-0 advantage.
Gavin Starling, Jayden Rose, Micah Hernandez and Ivan Tkach all followed with goals of their own, with Tkach finding the back of the cage with one second remaining to send the Eagles into the second quarter ahead 6-0.
Biola continued to pull away in the second. Caden Digby opened the scoring before Carson Crocket and Hernandez converted on back-to-back power plays. Rose added his second of the match and Jake Burns followed off a feed from Colton Brown to extend the Eagles' lead to 11-0.
Occidental finally broke through with 1:18 remaining in the half and added another late, but Biola still carried a commanding 11-2 advantage into halftime.
The Eagles shut down the Tigers once again in the third quarter while adding four more goals to their total. Starling opened the second-half scoring before Kacper Landowski and Dean Witt found the back of the cage. Hernandez capped the period with his third goal of the match, giving Biola a 15-2 lead heading into the fourth.
Rose completed his hat trick in the final period before Aiden Ortiz added his first goal of the game. Witt closed out the scoring for Biola with his second of the afternoon to secure the 18-4 victory.
The Eagles received contributions throughout the lineup with 11 different players finding the back of the cage. Rose and Hernandez led the way with three goals apiece, while Ryznar, Starling and Witt each scored twice.
Hernandez added an assist to finish with four points, while Burns also recorded four points with a goal and a team-high three assists. Ryan Previch contributed two assists.
Biola was just as effective defensively, limiting Occidental to 18 shots and holding the Tigers scoreless in two of the four periods. The Eagles collected 10 steals, led by Kyle Seifen and Hernandez with two apiece.
Cooper Smith played all 32 minutes in the cage for Biola and recorded seven saves while allowing just four goals.
The Eagles improved to 3-3 on the season and continue play at the Inland Empire Classic. Their next match is against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 5 p.m.
