LA VERNE, CA — The University of La Verne women's water polo team closed out the 2019 Convergence Tournament with a 2-2 record.
Stat Leaders
Sophomore Jassmine Kezman led the Leopards with 16 goals in the tournament with a pair of assists. Senior Victoria Mezack dished out eight assists over the weekend and drew 10 exclusions.
Ilene Guerrero had a standout weekend, scoring 10 times for La Verne. Shelby Garcia finished with 28 saves and a pair of wins.
Game One: La Verne 10, McKendree 9
The Leopards got out to an early lead against McKendree and held off a late push to pick up a win in Friday's opener.
Kezman got La Verne going, scoring the first three goals of the game. After Abby Burton got McKendree on the board midway through the second quarter, Kezman added her fourth goal and Jordan Ehara scored with less than a minute in the period to put the Leopards up 5-1 a the break.
Kezman added a pair of fourth quarter goals to help stave off the Bearcats' comeback attempt.
Guerrero scored two second half goals, Garcia led La Verne with nine saves.
Game Two: La Verne 16, Grove City 9
La Verne capped off a perfect Friday with a big with over Grove City. The Leopards scored six goals in both the first and second quarter to jump out to a 12-4 halftime advantage.
Christine Castrellon, Kelly Riedel, Alicia Thompson, Ehara, Mezack, Guerrero, and Kezman each scored in the opening 16 minutes.
Thompson and Kezman led the Leopards with three goals apiece. Kezman also dealt a pair of assists.
Taylor Puno and Sage Nowell both scored in the second half.
Game Three: Villanova 12, La Verne 8
The Leopards battled with the Wildcats in Saturday's opener, but Villanova went on a 4-0 run in the fourth to take the win from La Verne.
Mezack led La Verne in the effort with a pair of goals and assists. After picking up two exclusions in the first quarter, Kezman recovered and added a hat trick.
Guerrero found the back of the net twice and Riedel scored once. Emilie Eastman led La Verne with two steals and also added one assist. Shelby Garcia grabbed 13 saves and a steal.
Kaysie Stubaled led Villanova with four goals.
Game Four: Virginia Military Institue 16, La Verne 10
Guerrero scored five times in the Leopards final game of Convergence but the Leopards couldn't overcome an 8-3 halftime deficit.
Guerrero needed just six attempts to notch the best single-game scoring performance in her young La Verne career.
Kezman scored four times for the Leopards. Mezack did her job, assisting on four goals and stealing a pass. Castrellon totaled one goal and one assist. Thompson and Riedel each added one assist.
Season Impact
The Leopards pick up their first two wins of the season and move their record to 5-2 overall.
Next Game
La Verne is back in action on Tuesday when they host Saint Francis (PA) at 11 a.m.
Women?s water polo defeats McKendree 10-9 in their first game of the Convergence Tournament pic.twitter.com/zn3Opiwc8Z
— La Verne Leopards (@ULVAthletics) March 1, 2019
Women?s water polo is back in the pool for game??at 3pm at Las Flores Park pic.twitter.com/Fc9QbXOoVW
— La Verne Leopards (@ULVAthletics) March 1, 2019
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