The Leopards women’s water polo team made quick work of the Redlands Bulldogs on Wednesday, winning 10-6 at the Thompson Aquatic Center in Redlands.
The Leopards now move to 1-0 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and improve to 6-3 overall.
Junior attacker Jassmine Kezman put the Leopards up early in the first period after an assist by freshman attacker Sumi Rudisky.
But soon after, Bulldogs junior defender Sarah Draves evened the score back up for Redlands. Rudisky immediately answered with a goal of her own just six seconds later on the Leopards’ ensuing possession.
Kezman closed the first period with another goal to lead 3-1.
Picking up right where she left off, Kezman netted another goal to start the second.
Then, Kezman was awarded a 5-meter penalty shot after an exclusion on Bulldogs sophomore attacker Holly Kvanvig and sank the shot for her hat trick.
Now trailing 4-1, an exclusion on Leopards sophomore center Kelly Riedel gave the Bulldogs the advantage they needed, with senior attacker Hunter Olivier scoring on the power play.
The Leopard defense did not budge an inch and Kezman kept rolling to scored her fourth goal of the day to end the half, 5-2.
Later in the third, after an exclusion on Bulldogs junior center Alina Waldo awarded La Verne with another penalty shot, Kezman fired the ball for her fifth goal of the day.
However junior Bulldogs attacker Katelynn Holloman netted one back for Redlands during a power play.
After Rudisky found the net once again with an assist from senior defender Jordan Ehara, Kezman closed out the period with her third 5-meter penalty shot following a Olivier exclusion to end the period 8-3.
Kezman then netted a shot to open the final period, drawing first blood in every period.
The Montebello native went 7-8 in shooting and 3-3 in penalty shots on the night.
And despite a Bulldogs surge late in the fourth, it was not nearly enough to overtake the Leopards. La Verne took the game 10-6.
This win comes after an undefeated 4-0 performance at the Macalester Invitational, where the Leopards outscored their opponents 74-27, taking wins over Monmouth College, Macalester and Carthage.
The team will next be action hosting the Convergence Tournament held at the La Verne Aquatic Center, with games starting on Friday at 12:30 p.m.
–Joey Matsuzawa
