LA MIRADA, Calif.- It was all heartbreak Friday evening as the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds drop a critical WWPA matchup to the Biola Eagles 12-11 at the SPLASH! Aquatics Center. 

The game began with Biola taking an early lead, scoring within the first 15 seconds. Fresno Pacific responded quickly with Jacob Renevier finding the net after a drawn exclusion. The Eagles scored again, but the 'Birds managed to keep up thanks to Eugenio Maldonado's sharp shooting and an assist from Christiano Sandino. The defense held strong as Blake Johnson tied the game late in the period with a powerful strike following a setup by Samuel Ramos. However, Biola's Christian Trapp capitalized on an exclusion to close the period, leaving the Sunbirds tied with the Eagles at 3-3.

Biola started the second period aggressively, with Adam Lavoy scoring early to give them the lead. Tristin Fox responded with a quick goal off a Johnson assist, but turnovers gave Biola easy chances to regain control. Pietro Cattano managed to score late in the period after another excellent assist from Ramos. Despite their efforts, the 'Birds trailed 6-5 heading into halftime, as Biola capitalized on another late possession.

The Sunbirds started strong in the third period, with Christiano Sandino netting an early goal, bringing the game to 6-6. Midway through the quarter, Johnson scored again on a penalty shot. However, the Eagles responded with back-to-back goals. The period ended with Renevier narrowing the gap with a quick goal assisted by Johnson. Still, a last-second goal by Biola put them up 9-8.

In a thrilling final period, Biola struck first. Christian Clark gave the Sunbirds hope with a powerful goal off a Maldonado assist, bringing them within one. Sandino kept the momentum going with a penalty shot conversion to tie the game at 10-10. As time wound down, Maldonado's last-minute goal tied it again at 11-11, but Biola scored a decisive goal with just seconds left, securing the win for the Eagles.

The Sunbirds will have to recover quickly as they are back in the pool for their last game of the regular season with another WWPA matchup with the Concordia Golden Eagles at 1pm in Irvine. 
 

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