FRESNO, Calif. — Fresno Pacific water polo battled in a high-scoring WWPA showdown Friday at Sanger West High School, falling 15-12 to Biola University. The Sunbirds matched the Eagles with 24 shots and converted seven power-play opportunities, but Biola maintained the edge to secure the conference victory.
Biola opened the scoring, but the Sunbirds responded with goals from Christiano Sandino and
Tristin Fox to keep the game close in the opening quarter. Fox's power-play goal helped FPU find its offensive rhythm as the teams traded scores. The Eagles opened the second quarter with back-to-back goals, but Fresno Pacific answered with four of its own. Fox,
Roberto Perez-Puente,
Ryder Stermer and
Ryan Scott each found the back of the net to keep the Sunbirds within striking distance heading into halftime.
After halftime, FPU continued to battle in the third quarter, with Sandino scoring before Fox added another power-play goal. After Biola responded with consecutive goals, Scott converted a power-play opportunity late in the quarter to keep the Sunbirds in the hunt.
Fox,
Luke Young and Stermer added goals in the fourth to rally against Biola's attempts to score. However, the Eagles matched FPU's offensive push with three goals in the final period to hold on for the 15-12 win.
Fox led the Sunbirds with four goals on four shots, making the most of every opportunity. Sandino contributed two goals and four assists, along with a field block, while Stermer recorded two goals and an assist on six shots. Scott also finished with two goals, converting both of his attempts. The Blue and Orange finished with 12 goals on 24 shots and seven power-play scores. Biola recorded 15 goals on 24 shots, including four power-play goals and two penalty-shot conversions.
The Blue and Orange is 4-13 overall and 1-1 in WWPA play.
NEXT UP: The 'Birds challenge No. 1 West seed and the 2025 WWPA Champions, Concordia University Irvine on Saturday, October 10 at 1pm. Similar to the Biola match, the match will be held at Sanger West High School.
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