LA VERNE, Calif. — Hailey Westwood made seven saves, eight different players got on the board and the University of La Verne women's water polo team beat Penn State Behrend, 15-2, at La Verne Aquatics Center on Wednesday evening.
La Verne improves to 2-7 on the season while Penn State Behrend falls to 1-6.
Lora Marquez-Salgado and Megan Littled led the way with three goals apiece. Catie Tuning and Amber Tardif each had two.
The Leopards were airtight on defense and did not allow a goal until the three-minute mark in the fourth quarter on a breakaway. The Lions could not execute a meaningful possession the entire game and what shots they did get off, Westwood turned the away.
La Verne killed all four Penn State Behrend power play chances.
Sarah Jefferis opened the scoring about two minutes into the game from six meters out and the Leopards never looked back. La Verne added four more goals in the first quarter—all by different players—and put in four in the second to take a 9-0 lead into the break.
Kendra New, Kimberly Lopez and Emily Randall had one goal each.
La Verne returns to action on next Monday, March 16 when it hosts St. Francis (N.Y.) at 11:00 a.m.
From head coach Willo Rodriguez
On what the coaching staff emphasized for the game: "Working the counterattack, trying to get the ball out of the cage and trying to find the open man in transition. We converted a couple of counterattacks and that helped us."
On what the team is looking to accomplish against St. Francis before SCIAC starts: "Without a doubt, a win. We want to try to improve on our man-up opportunities. We're shooting a pretty high percentage and we want to sustain what we got right now or even improve further.
