Leos Fall in Tight Match Against the Poets
The University of La Verne men's water polo team battled at home in a tight match against the Whittier Poets on Saturday morning, which ended in a 10-9 victory for the Poets. La Verne also took on the NAIA Vanguard Lions in the afternoon where they fell 12-7.
La Verne was down in first quarter 4-1 to the Poets with the lone goal coming from Arturo Villalpando. The Leos would rally back to tie the game in the second scoring four goals, two coming from Kyle Thorsness, and allowing Whittier to get just one ball in the back of the net.
The match would remain tied after the third quarter when both teams scored two goals apiece to leave the match in a 7-7 deadlock. Both of La Verne's goals were scored by Thorsness to give him a total of four goals. The final quarter would be the decision maker. Whittier went on the score three goals before the Leos would rally back. Andrew MacKay scored to cut the deficit down to two. Jon Jarvis would score the final goal of the match in the last second of the game, but it would not be enough. The Poets would defeat the Leopards in a 10-9 final.
The Leos took on the Lions for their final game of the day. Vanguard would lead 2-0 after the first quarter. La Verne was able to score two in the second, but still headed into the third quarter trailing by three. The Leopards scored five goals in the second half of play but would end up falling to the Lions 12-7. Thorsness led the team with four goals, followed by Villalpando who scored two.
Goalie, Dan Newell recorded nine saves for the day. Brendon Jones had four.
The Leopards will be hosting the SCIAC Champions November 11th-13th. All matches will be played at the La Verne Aquatics Center.
