LA VERNE, CA – The University of La Verne men's water polo team dropped a back-and-forth affair to the Whittier College Poets on Wednesday night, losing 20-17.

Both teams' offenses came out firing to start the game. The poets jumped out to a four to one lead, but the Leopards answered quickly, scoring five of the next seven. At the half, it was anybody's game, with the score resting at ten to seven. The Leos were able to match the Poets in goals in both the third and fourth quarters but ultimately weren't able to pull away, and at the final whistle, the scoreboard read 20-17 in favor of Whittier.

Fresh off of his Leopard of the Week award, Jordan Baker picked up right where he left off leading the team with five goals and four assists. He collected season highs in shots, goals, and total points, Josh Lamberton also had a strong performance finding the back of the net four times to go along with an assist. Other key contributors included Timothy Robles who picked up one goal and three assists, Tommy Gibson who finished with one goal and two assists, and Zachariah Barclay who recorded three goals and one assist.

Up next, the Leopards will travel to Claremont to take on CMS on October 11th at 11 a.m.