FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific men's water polo team fought back from a five-goal deficit against #17 California Baptist on Thursday night, but in the end the Sunbirds fell just short against the Lancers 10-8. Dillon Robinson led the Sunbirds with 19 saves on the evening.
 
FPU falls to 8-10 overall and 1-5 in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) with the setback, while CBU improves to 14-8 overall and 1-2 in league play.
 
Kyle Madel opened the scoring on the evening to put FPU up 1-0. The Lancers responded with a 6-0 run, however, and led 6-1 midway through the second quarter. FPU followed with a run of its own to cut the CBU lead to 6-4 at the half.
 
Down 7-5, a pair of goals from FPU's Jacob Fairchild knotted the game at 7-7 with 3:12 to play in the third quarter. The Lancers would tighten up the defense the rest of the way though, as CBU only allowed one more score from the Sunbirds to earn the 10-8 win.
 
Fairchild led FPU with a hat trick of goals, while Madel added two. Steven Kaufmann, Garth Verdegaal and Jamison Shapland rounded out the scoring with a goal apiece. WWPA scoring leader David Maes was held scoreless, as the senior added an assist.
 
The difference came in the man-up opportunities, as the Sunbirds were held to a mark of 2-of-9 on power plays. The Lancers countered at a clip of 4-for-7.
 
Brent Teraoka led CBU with three goals, while the conference leader in saves Joseph Moorman added 14 blocks.

"I was proud of the heart our guys showed tonight," said head coach Bryan Suhovy. "After the first quarter we could have given up, but we didn't and kept fighting. Dillon led our defensive charge and our freshman stepped up tonight. Although I'm bummed about the loss, I'm happy with the way we played. This next few days of polo is going to be a great weekend."
 
FPU is back in action tomorrow at the Santa Clara Rodeo Tournament against George Washington. The game is slated for a 5:40 p.m. start at Sullivan Aquatic Center.