LA VERNE, Calif. — Guarina Garcia scored four goals, Victoria Mezack added three and the La Verne women's water polo team cruised to a 12-4 win over Penn State Behrend on Tuesday at Las Flores Park.

The Leopards didn't allow the Lions to get into offensive rhythm and dominated possession. La Verne forced a whopping 24 steals and outshot Penn State Behrend 41-19 on the game.

After four grueling games over the weekend, La Verne needed its bench to step up and it did. Mezack led the second unit with three goals, and Zoe Kratzer and Teresa Zuniga each had one. More importantly, the Leopards didn't have to lean on Stephanie Rosero, who didn't get on the board today after scoring 12 goals over the weekend.

"We wanted to emphasize our second and third string play," La Verne co-head coach Erika Vargas said. "And they did great today. They really stepped up today and put away 6-on-5 opportunities and counterattacks. That and playing press defense is all we ask for."

The teams traded a couple of goals to start the game but Mezack scored three unanswered goals in a row to spark a 7-0 La Verne run stretching deep into the third quarter which gave the Leopards a 9-2 lead.

The Lions got one back in the closing seconds of the third quarter but the Leopards poured in three more goals in the final period to seal the win.

Jordan Ehara was excellent in net, parrying away 12 of 15 shots on target.

The Leopards are back in action tomorrow against Azusa Pacific.