It's not too often an NAIA school matches up with one of the Pac 10's elite programs, but that was what Fresno Pacific water polo was up against on Friday when the Sunbirds faced #1-ranked defending national champion USC at the Lancer Invitational in Riverside.

FPU players were excited about the opportunity to play the nation's top team and the Trojans showed why they are one of the top programs in the country, rolling to a 21-4 victory.

“It was a good experience to see how intense and fast we need to play,” said driver Raymond Eggert. “They're No. 1 for a reason.”

FPU (1-10) was unable to bounce back in the second game of the day, falling to Cal Lutheran 13-11.

Trevor Kolb and Evan Baird led the team offensively, each with three goals on the day.  Krisztian Kovacs, Glenn Lyon, and Ian Roos each added two goals apiece.  Riley Warner had ten saves between the two games.

The first game, against the # 1 Trojans, saw the Sunbirds fall behind 9-0 in the first quarter.  Kovacs was able to score in the second, but a comeback looked futile as the top-ranked Trojans proved to be too much for FPU.

The Sunbirds moved on to a more familiar opponent for the game two, taking on Cal Lutheran who they defeated 18-17 in double overtime last week. This time however it was the Kingsmen keeping the Sunbirds at bay and escaping with the 13-11 win. 

FPU took a 2-1 lead after the first quarter, capitalizing on goals from Kolb and Sascha Ludwig.  CLU came back in the second quarter, going up 6-5 at half.  Roos scored early in the third quarter to tie the game at 6, but CLU scored three unanswered goals before FPU could respond, making the score 9-8 going into the fourth. 

The Sunbirds brought the score within one several times in the last period, with goals from Kolb, Baird, and Kovacs.  Baird made the score 12-11 CLU with 1:57 remaining, but the Kingsmen would answer just 18 seconds later for what would prove to be the game's final goal.

Captain Chris Maldonado commented on the day as a whole: “We are seeing improvement, but we still need to take our play to another level.”