COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — The University of La Verne men's water polo team opened the 2019 season with four games at the Rare Air – Air Force Invitational over the weekend.
The Leopards picked up a win over Ottawa (AZ) to finish the weekend 1-3.
La Verne 23, Ottawa (AZ) 11
Two Leopard newcomers made big impacts for La Verne in their weekend debut in the green and orange. Vasil Halchev scored a game-high six goals for the Leopards to help his squad get rolling. Three of his goals came in the first quarter alone.
Freshman Adam Barnuevo added a hat-trick in his first weekend at La Verne, netting all three of his goals in the second half.
Returning All-American Charles Ortega picked up right where he left off last season scoring three times, all in the first half. Junio Guillermo Ocasio got off to a hot start, scoring all three of his goal in the opening eight minutes.
Myles Storms and Jason Soo Hoo each scored twice. Danilo Lugli, Dario Mariani, and Michael Staine all scored once.
The Leopards got up big early in the contest, taking a 7-0 lead after the first quarter.
La Verne played tough in their other three games of the tournament, narrowly falling to Salem 15-14 in an exciting game, and dropped matches to host Air Force 23-9 and George Washington 19-11
Next Game
The Leopards play their home opener this weekend when they host the Inland Empire Classic. On Saturday, La Verne opens with a 9 a.m. rematch against Ottawa before taking on Riverside Community College at 2:40 p.m. The Leopards conclude the tournament on Sunday with an 11:40 a.m. game against Fresno Pacific and a 3:40 p.m. game against Concordia Irvine.
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