CLAREMONT, Calif.--- Biola Men's Water Polo battled back from a five-goal second-half deficit before falling 13-12 to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in triple overtime on Saturday evening at Axelrood Aquatics Center.
Noah Ryznar powered the Eagles' comeback with seven goals on 11 shots, repeatedly coming through in key moments to keep Biola alive late in the match.
CMS jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Ryznar put the Eagles on the board with 6:26 remaining in the opening quarter. Gavin Starling followed less than two minutes later before Ryznar struck again to even the score at 3-3. The Stags reclaimed the lead with two seconds remaining, taking a 4-3 advantage into the second.
The second quarter belonged to CMS, as the Stags held Biola scoreless while adding three goals to build a 7-3 halftime lead.
CMS extended its advantage to 8-3 midway through the third, but the Eagles began to chip away. Aiden Ortiz and Jake Burns connected on back-to-back power-play opportunities just 37 seconds apart to bring Biola within three. After the Stags responded, Ryznar found the back of the cage with 41 seconds remaining to make it 9-6 heading into the fourth.
Biola came alive in the final eight minutes of regulation.
Ryznar opened the fourth-quarter scoring before Micah Hernandez struck less than a minute later to pull the Eagles within one. Ryznar scored again with 3:28 remaining, completing the comeback and tying the match at 9-9.
CMS briefly moved back in front, but Ryznar answered once again with 1:57 left on the clock to level the score at 10-10 and send the game into overtime.
The Stags scored the only goal of the first overtime period, putting Biola behind 11-10. Caden Digby responded with 1:47 remaining in the second overtime to tie things up once again.
CMS converted a penalty shot with 52 seconds left to reclaim the advantage, but Ryznar came through in the closing moments. The sophomore buried his seventh goal of the night with 29 seconds remaining, evening the score at 12-12 and sending the match into sudden death.
The back-and-forth battle finally came to an end when CMS scored with 1:03 remaining in the sudden-death period to secure the 13-12 victory.
Ryznar accounted for seven of Biola's 12 goals, while Digby, Starling, Ortiz, Burns and Hernandez each added one. Hernandez also led the Eagles defensively with four steals, while Digby recorded two.
Cooper Smith finished with eight saves in the cage for Biola.
The Eagles moved to 3-4 on the season and return to action Thursday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. at CBU.
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