University of La Verne

LOS ANGELES, CA — The University of La Verne men's water polo team took down NCAA Division II Biola and NCAA Division I Mount St. Mary's (Md.) in the annual Gary Troyer Tournament hosted at Occidental College and Pomona-Pitzer.

La Verne 15, Biola 14

The Leopards opened the tournament with a bang, battling in overtime to take down Biola 15-14 Friday afternoon.

After the first two overtimes left the squads knotted at 14-14, the stakes were raised in the final sudden-death, three-minute period. The Leopards needed just under 40 seconds. La Verne drew a penalty, and senior Jordan Baker stepped up, firing a shot to give the Leopards the win.

Baker led the Leopards with four goals, one assist, and one steal. Christian Acosta finished the game strong, scoring all three of his goals in the fourth quarter and overtime. He led La Verne with a season-high five steals. 

It looked like the Leopards would walk away with the game after the first overtime period when Acosta and Zack Montoya scored to put La Verne up by two with 1:45 remaining. Biola's Ryan Previch answered, scoring twice, including the game-tier with one second on the clock.

Henry De Luna finished with seven saves. Timothy Robles tallied two goals and two steals.

Nicolo Buno added two goals, scoring both within seconds of each other in the second quarter. Josh Lamberton scored twice.

La Verne 18, Mount St. Mary's (Md.) 16

The Leopards closed the tournament just as impressively, defeating the Mountaineers 18-16 in an even matchup.

Baker played an outstanding game, scoring a career-high seven goals off just 11 shots. Xavier Turla, Johan Gaytan, and Lamberton each scored hat tricks.

Tied 11-11 in the final seconds of the first half, the Leopards capitalized on a power play, and Gaytan delivered a shot to give La Verne a one-goal edge at the break.

The Mountaineers rallied in the fourth, tying the game 16-16 on a goal by Aleksandar Radosavljevic. But the Leopards' defense held strong from there, and Baker scored two more times to put the game away.

De Luna posted 10 saves. Robles and Montoya both scored once. 

McKendree 19, La Verne 17

The Leopards fell to McKendree to end day one. Robles led La Verne with five goals. Lamberton and Turla scored three goals apiece.

CSU Fullerton 20, La Verne 14

The Leopards hung tough with DI CSU Fullerton and entered the half tied before the Titans pulled away in the second half. 

Baker scored four goals, with Robles and Montoya each scoring three.

Season Impact

La Verne improves to 5-6 overall

Next Game

The Leopards finally play their home opener on Saturday, October 10, at 11 a.m. against the University of Redlands.