THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific men's water polo team traveled to Cal Lutheran for their first non-tournament contest of the season. FPU won the first period 3-1 but were outscored 14-9 the remainder of the match.

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"First game with our entire team and I'm pleased with how we look," said head coach Bryan Suhovy. "We need to improve our transition defense but overall we are showing a lot of positives. Ten of our twelve goals came from Freshman."

Clay had a great game with 21 saves," Suhovy continued. "I believe we will improve with each game we play and our ceiling right now is limitless. The win was within reach and the guys know it and they continue to stay hungry."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After falling down 1-0 to start the match, the Sunbirds closed the first period with three unanswered goals. Eugenio Maldonado, Bodhi Bowden, and Thilo Popp each scored one.
• FPU led 4-2 after a second goal from Maldonado with 4:57 remaining in the second period. The Kingsmen responded with three straight goals of their own to take a 5-4 lead into the half.
• Cal Lutheran outscored the Sunbirds 6-4 in the third period and took an 11-8 lead into the fourth.
• The Blue & Orange cut the lead to 11-9 with 7:21 left in the fourth but never got closer than that as the Kingsmen scored four straight goals down the stretch to put the game away.

STATS FROM THE GAME

• Bodhi Bowden led the Sunbird offense with five goals and an assist. He also recorded three steals in the contest. Eugenio Moldonado, Pietro Cattano, and Thilo Popp each had two goals of their own.
• Cal Lutheran outshot Fresno Pacific 42-34.
• The Kingsmen had 13 steals compared to FPU's six.

UP NEXT

• FPU is back in action tomorrow at the Inland Empire Classic. They'll take on Occidental at 10:20 a.m. and Redlands at 1:20 p.m. On Sunday, they'll square off against Whittier at 10:15 a.m. and La Verne at 2:45 p.m.

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