Photo by Evangelyna Guerrero

LA VERNE, CA — Rex Sample fired a dart in sudden death triple overtime and the University of La Verne men's water polo team came away with an exciting 11-10 win over Riverside City College Saturday afternoon at Las Flores Park.

The win was the highlight of the weekend during the two-day Inland Empire Classic hosted by La Verne and the University of Redlands.

Sample led the Leopards with four goals in the match to go with a steal.

Charles Ortega, Wesley Hovanesian, and Michael Staine each scored twice. Charles Lewandowski found the back of the net once.

After the squads went into the half tied 4-4, Riverside stormed out in the third quarter, going on a 3-1 run over the next eight minutes to take a 7-5 lead into the fourth. 

The Leopards erased the deficit, scoring the final three goals of regulation to send the game to overtime. 

The teams traded goals in the opening overtime period and went scoreless in the second overtime period, setting up Sample's dramatic goal in sudden death.

IE Classic

La Verne played three more games during the classic against nationally ranked teams. La Verne faced No. 6 Long Beach State, No. 10 UC Santa Barbara, and No. 2 USC, dropping all three games against the top teams. La Verne has played five top-15 teams this season.

Next Game

The Leopards open up SCIAC play this Wednesday, September 19 when they travel to Redlands to face the Bulldogs at 7 p.m.