Different state. Different level. Different school.
Similar comfort zone.

Two freshmen who were teammates at Curtis High School in Washington officially introduced themselves to the college water polo world in a big way Saturday afternoon. Liam Hensley scored six goals and Ryker Paulson added four more and eight steals to lead the Grand Canyon University Club Water Polo team to an impressive 17-1 victory of Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. It's the second straight season that the Lopes opened up their regular season campaign with a double-digit victory over the Lumberjacks.

The Lopes wasted no time, finding the back of the net roughly a half-minute into the match and never looked back. GCU scored the only six goals of the first period and took a 9-1 lead into halftime.

I had no doubts in our team's ability to perform, but I was still impressed by their ability to work together and communicate as a team after only a few weeks of practicing," said Lopes' Head Coach Justin Wong. "Their communication and knowledge of the game really showed in their positioning, allowing them to capitalize on so many steals and man-up opportunities. This was a good starting point for the season, and I'm excited to see how well they do in the future."

The Lopes' defense set the tone all afternoon, piling up 28 steals, with 12 different Lopes recording at least one. Behind Paulson's eight and Hensley's five, Lopes' junior Michael Kerin and freshman goalkeeper Benson Webster each had three steals, while Webster and senior goalkeeper Guerin DeJong combined to allow just one NAU goal.

The Lopes were just as sharp with the extra attacker. Paulson drew four ejections to set up man-up chances, and GCU spread its scoring among seven different players. Kerin and sophomore Owen Call chipped in two goals apiece, while senior Ethan Briones, sophomore Evan Briones and junior Kaden Sullivan each added a goal.

The Lopes will continue to sharpen up in weekly Wednesday-night scrimmages against Mesa Masters at Kino Aquatic Center in Mesa.