REDLANDS, Calif. - Closing out the final day of the Inland Empire Classic, Fresno Pacific men's water polo fell to Cal Lutheran 14-11 and nationally-ranked Cal Baptist 16-6 on Saturday at Thompson Aquatic Center.
"This weekend was a great experience getting to play some of the top teams in the country and test ourselves early in the season," said second-year Head Coach
Jonathan Miller. "Our goal right now is to play better each week and I think we definitely accomplished that."
FPU vs Cal Lutheran
No. 8 (DIII) Cal Lutheran opened with three consecutive goals to claim the lead before the Sunbirds answered through
Tristin Fox, assisted by
Ryder Stermer, at 1:20. After another Kingsmen goal scored at 7:35 in the second quarter, Fox responded at 7:08 off a
Luke Young assist. Cal Lutheran followed with three straight goals before the Sunbirds put together a three-goal stretch thanks to the efforts of Stermer and
Jesse Bryan. Cal Lutheran closed the second quarter with goals two more goals, while the Sunbirds scored all three goals in the third quarter on finishes by Fox at 7:03, Stermer at 6:10 and Christiano Sandino at 3:03. The 'Birds held Cal Lutheran scoreless in the third quarter while scoring three times, though Cal Lutheran answered with a 5-3 edge in the fourth quarter. In the end, the final score was 11-14 with the Kingsmen winning it all.
FPU vs No. 16 CBU
Nationally-ranked Cal Baptist scored the first six goals in the first quarter and added two more in the second before Fox put the Sunbirds on the board at 1:23, assisted by Sandino. CBU answered with Andrea Nuzzo's goal at :03 to close the half. The Sunbirds generated more scoring in the third, with Fox scoring at 6:35 and 4:28 and Bryan adding a goal at 3:23, but Cal Baptist closed the third quarter with three straight goals. In the fourth, Sandino scored at 5:07 off a
Yanti Quijada assist, and Fox added another at 4:20 before the Lancers recorded the final goal at 3:33 to end the game 6-16.
Overall, Fox scored eight goals on seven shots and drew two exclusions. Sandino finished with four goals, an assist and four steals. Bryan finished with three goals and two assists on three shots. In the cage,
Chase Hammes recorded 15 saves on the day and two steals in goal. In the CBU game,
Zack Lovick added five saves and two steals.
"Our young guys stepped up in a big way and we're excited to see a couple of WWPA opponents next weekend."
NEXT UP: The 'Birds fly to the Salem Invitational in Bridgeport, West Virginia on September 11th.
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