LA VERNE, Calif. — The University of La Verne men's water polo team hung with Division III No. 1 Whittier for much of the game, but could not find the fifth gear as it fell to the Poets, 14-10, at La Verne Aquatics Center on Saturday.

La Verne finishes SCIAC regular season 2-6 while Whittier went undefeated.

The Leopards never trailed by more than three goals until the closing minutes of the game and had a golden chance to get within one goal early in the fourth quarter when Andrew Phillips and Jonathon Jarvis got a two-on-one fast break opportunity. But despite a near perfect execution, Whittier goalie Ryan Brunansky was able to make a point-blank save on Jarvis' shot to stall La Verne's comeback attempt.

The stop proved crucial, as the Poets were able to run off two straight goals to get away to a 13-9 lead with four minutes remaining in the game.

Whittier got out to a 2-0 lead to start the game, but the Leopards did not shrink from the challenge. La Verne got on the board when Matthew Vega converted a penalty drawn by Phillips at about the 4:43 mark in the first quarter and kept the Poets from going on big runs. Nick Estevez made it 3-2 after he collected a rebound off Brunansky's face and Matthew Vega converted another penalty—drawn by his brother Josh Vega this time—with 30 seconds left in the quarter to keep it within a goal.

La Verne briefly tied it at 5-5 in the second quarter on a Josh Vega goal at the 5:38 mark. But Whittier separated itself again with goals from Massimiliano Mararch and Filip Delic to take a 7-5 lead into the break.

The Leopards kept fighting in the second half. Bryan Jimenez scored the first goal of the second half on an assist from Phillips, Tyler Bennett scored a pretty backhand shot and Makai DeNeve-Arnam also found the net to keep the Leopards within striking distance.

But Whittier had an answer every time as it held on in the fourth quarter.

Mirarchi led all scorers with six goals.

Matthew Vega, Josh Vega and Estevez each had two goals for La Verne.

Before the game, head coach Willo Rodriguez held a brief ceremony to celebrate the careers of his two seniors, Jonathon Jarvis and Daniel Newell. Jarvis is a three-time Acadmic All-American and Newell was a Third Team All-American as a freshman in 2011. Both contributed to the program for four years.

The Leopards will look to improve its final conference standing in the SCIAC Championships, hosted by Redlands, on Nov. 21-23.