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LOS ANGELES -- LMU Men's Water Polo Head Coach John Loughran entered the 2014 season stressing and holding his young team to a goal of taking steps forward every day, learning new roles while overcoming whatever comes in their path. No one on the Lions' roster has risen to the occasion more than junior Emanuel Di Stasio, a native of Italy that has had to adjust to a new culture, a new way of playing, and different food.

Di Stasio, who grew up in the Tyrrhenian Sea coastal regions of Italy near Naples and Pisa, made the journey to Los Angeles looking for a place to continue playing water polo while advancing his mind as a Mechanical Engineering major.

Thanks to his uncle, Mario De Leon - a professional violinist performing on movie soundtracks that include Transformers, WALL-E, Invictus and Despicable Me - bringing him to the campus, Di Stasio found a home with the Lions.

And with that, came major challenges to change his game and the way he eats.

Di Stasio sat down with the LMU Sports Network to talk about the transition to a new country, the difference in food, the different styles of water polo and his role as one of the few upperclassmen on the Lions' team.

Di Stasio's ability to face new challenges has been a big part of his rise to leadership for the Lions. He leads the Lions through five games with 10 goals, guiding LMU through its toughest opening two weeks in program history.

The Lions have played five games, all against top-12 programs. They defeated No. 12 Pepperdine on the road last week and now head to the 2014 KAP7 NorCal Classic hosted by Pacific. They will open with No. 7 UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, 12 noon, at the Chris Kjeldsen Pool on the campus of the University of the Pacific.

The tournament is annually one toughest on the schedule, including this year's field. Of the 16 teams, 14 are in the latest national coaches' poll. The Lions sit at No. 12 and are in the same bracket as No. 3 USC and No. 19 Air Force. The losers will play at 4 pm, with the winners at 5:20 pm. The tournament will conclude on Sunday.