RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The FPU men's water polo team (2-14, 0-4 WWPA) finished its time in Riverside at the Lancer Invite with a 17-10 loss to Westcliff (14-13), followed by a 12-10 win over Austin College (4-9) to close out the tournament.
 
The Sunbirds and Warriors traded goals to start the first match of the day with Pietro Cattano getting FPU on the board first followed by a Westcliff goal, both withing the first 40 seconds of the match.
 
The Warriors proceeded to score three straight before Cattano score his second goal and the final goal of the period to make it 4-2 after one quarter.
 
Westcliff got things started to open the second period with a goal before Forrest Gray was able to match to keep the game at a two-point deficit.
 
After back-to-back goals from the Warriors, the Sunbirds were able to go on a 3-0 run, starting with a goal from William Green, followed by back-to-back finishes from Thilo Popp to make it 7-6 with 3:36 to go in the first half.
 
Westcliff stopped the run with a goal, but Green was able to put his second goal in the net with 1:31 remaining in the half, and the Sunbirds only trailed by one at the break after winning the second period 5-4.
 
The Warriors owned the third quarter with four goals to just one by FPU, which came from Green.
 
Cattano and Eugenio Maldonado were both able to score in the final period, but the Warriors scored five in the quarter to take a commanding lead and earn the win.
 
In the final game of the weekend, the Sunbirds got out to a hot start with goals from Popp and Gray to take a quick 2-0 lead.
 
The Roo's answered with two goals of their own, but two goals from Maldonado and Gray to close out the first period, followed by a goal from Cattano to open the second period gave FPU a 5-2 lead with 7:14 left in the first half.
 
Austin College was able to net two goals to cut into the lead, but Green was able to put one in with 43 seconds to go before halftime, giving the Sunbirds a 6-4 lead at the intermission.
 
The Roo's came out hot to start the second half, scoring three goals to take their first lead of the contest before Cattano was able to tie it with 3:49 left in the third quarter.
 
Austin College re-gained the lead, but FPU came storming back, scoring three straight thanks to two goals from Gray and another from Cattano, and the Sunbirds led 10-8 heading into the final eight minutes.
 
The two teams traded goals with Austin getting on the board first to cut the FPU lead to one, but Popp was able to get it back with 2:49 left in the game.
 
The Roo's didn't go away, scoring again just nine seconds later, but another goal from Cattano would put the Sunbirds up 12-10, and they would hold on to that score to get the win.
 
On Friday night, the Sunbirds fell in both contests, going down 20-8 to UC Santa Barbara and 26-6 in a rematch with Cal Baptist.
 
FPU will continue the long road trip on Wednesday with two contests. First, they'll take on Merced College at 1:30 p.m. before jumping over to West Valley for a matchup at 3 p.m.
 
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