Valerie Dominguez
Staff Writer
The women’s water polo team continued its season with another loss against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in Wednesday’s game at Las Flores Park.
CMS beat La Verne 8-3, dropping the Leopards to an overall record of 7-16, as well as extending their Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record to 0-2.
The Leopards started strong in the first quarter with senior utility Ashley Forsberg making the first goal of the game. The Athenas responded back to the Leopards with a goal made by sophomore driver Alyssa Filippelli.
CMS sophomore driver Alex Toohey scored a goal at the beginning of the quarter along with senior utility Kristina Norrgard.
La Verne answered back with a quick offensive passing that led to a penalty shot, which was made by team captain, sophomore driver Bethie Ross.
As La Verne tried to use this to gain momentum and come back in the game, CMS answered with two completed shots made by sophomore utility Candace Filippelli and freshman driver Rose Koper respectively keeping the lead at 5-2 to close the half.
“People were stepping it up out there in the game because some girls were playing different positions than they normally do,” Ross said. “Some girls were coming back from injuries, myself included.”
Once the third quarter started La Verne got an early jump on the ball and took quick control of the game with a variety of passes that led to many shot opportunities.
Unfortunately Claremont’s freshman goalkeeper Allison Hu narrowly blocked near shots to prevent her team from being scored upon.
“We’ve gotten a lot better, Ross said. “We just need to work together more and not afraid to make shots.”
Once Claremont had the ball they controlled the pace of the game and Koper had scored her second goal of the game.
The Leopards fired back to get on the board with a far shot from almost the middle of the pool, which was made by junior utility Alex Gudeneau.
The Athenas answered back with two goals, one of which was scored by senior driver Lillian Reid, which led to a Claremont lead of 8-3. The fourth quarter had started as La Verne got the ball first.
Both teams played defensively as both goalies made saves while their teammates made almost no room for any shot to be taken. The scored remained at 8-3, making the Athenas the victors.
“They needed to play together as a team and not rush things,” head coach Alex La said. “Keeping a steadier pace would have helped them a lot.”
La Verne is currently in eighth place in SCIAC. The Leopards will face off against SCIAC foe, the Whittier Poets at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Las Flores Park.
Valerie Dominguez can be reached at valerie.dominguez@laverne.edu.
