IRVINE, Calif. - For stretches of Thursday's home opener, the Concordia University Irvine men's water polo showed they could compete with another Top 25 ranked team.

The Golden Eagles were tied 3-3 after the first period with No. 20 CBU.

After the teams traded goals to make it 4-4, the Lancers opened up 8-4 lead by halftime.

Harry Bentham scored twice to help pace the CUI offense. Kaliq Khan and Kanoa Stoddard also cashed in once to the delight of the home crowd.

Konstantinos Koulouris had one of the highlights of the game when he caught the CBU backup goalie napping early in the fourth. He lobbed a shot from almost the middle of the pool for his second goal of the day. Koulouris finished with a team-high four points as he had two assists to go with two goals.

Playing short-handed due to a couple injuries, the Golden Eagles gave a strong effort, but ultimately fell 17-8 to the Lancers.

Griffin Beth started between the pipes and had five saves. Freshman Hale Durbiano added a couple stops and closed it out over the last 11 minutes.

Concordia visits UC San Diego on Friday before returning home for another non-conference game next Thursday, Oct. 3 against Mount Saint Mary's. That game will again be at 1:30 p.m. at Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine.

CLICK HERE for the full CUI men's water polo schedule