Photo by Shira Oneal-Abend

Story by Sebastián Abdón Ibarra

CLAREMONT, CA — Jacob Corona scored early in the half to pull the Leopards to cut their deficit to one goal but the University of La Verne men's soccer team couldn't slow the Pomona-Pitzer attack, beginning its two-game road trip with a 4-1 loss to the Sagehens. With the loss, the Leos fall to 1-2 in conference play. 

The Sagehens dominated the time of possession in the match which made it very difficult for the Leos to complete a comeback. Pomona-Pitzer peppered La Verne with 29 total shots 15 of which on goal. La Verne went down 2-0 early in the second half when Corona cut the lead in half with a goal in the 52nd minute off a Christian Rios assist. That would be all the scoring for the Leos could manage with the Sagehens would add two more goals before the game was finished to make the final score 4-1. 

La Verne's goalie trio of Brandon Castro, Logan Reese, and Kevan Rehmani was worked to the bone in this game. Rehmani was the busiest of the three this game as he had eight saves in a little under 20 minutes. 

The Leopard offense struggled to break through the Sagehens' defense. Corona's goal would be the only shot the Leos had for the day. 

Matthew Carlson led the Sagehens with two goals.

With the loss, the Leos fall to 1-2 in conference play and 2-4-1 overall.

The Leopards next travel to Chapman University on Saturday at 7:00 pm.