Photo by Evangelyna Guerrero

LA VERNE, CA — Four Leopards scored two goals apiece and the University of La Verne men's water polo team scored four times in the fourth quarter to get within striking distance of No. 20 Whittier College's lead with just over four minutes left to play.

But the Poets rallied late, scoring the final three goals of the game to beat the Leopards 17-11.

Season Impact

The Leopards move to 2-9 overall and 1-2 in SCIAC play. The Poets now sit at 4-7 overall and 2-0 in conference play.

Stat Leaders

Jason Russum, Domenic D'Andrea, Rex Sample and Michael Staine each found the back of the net twice. Wesley Hovanesian dished out two assists and grabbed three steals.

Brian Wilder got the start in the cage, finishing with four saves and one steal.

How it happened

The end of each half was nearly identical, after falling behind early, La Verne rallied to cut the deficit but each time the Poets surged in the final minutes to protect their lead.

With just over three minutes left in the second quarter, Ryan Lehotsky grabbed a pass from Myles Storms and found the back of the net to put the score at 6-5. Whittier responded with five goals in the final two and a half minutes to take a comfortable 11-5 lead at the break.

In the fourth quarter, Hovanesian connected with D'Andrea to get the Leopards within three of Whittier's lead. But the Poets again went on a late push, closing the game out on a 3-0 run to seal the win.

Next Game

The Leopards will next play in the Lancer Invitational on Friday, September 29 at Cal Baptist. The Leopards open the day against USC at 1:20 p.m. and end the day with 4:00 p.m. game against Mercyhurst.