Stephanie Amaya
Staff Writer
The men’s water polo team grabbed their last win of the season on Senior Day against the Occidental Tigers in a close overtime match, 16-15, on Saturday at the La Verne Aquatic Center.
The opening ceremony showcased their graduating players in a light, funny and heartfelt ceremony where they were surrounded by family and friends.
Seniors Eric Bates, Peter Trinh, Sawyer Nering, David Gutierrez, Steven Rios and Alam Chang-Barnuevo were honored.
“I think next year is going to be hard not to be able to come here everyday, being able to be in the water with these guys, but I think with what we’ve created the last two, even four years is something you can’t replace,” Trinh said.
The Leopards started off a bit slow, with a Tigers’ possession at the toss to start the game. Occidental immediately made a drive to the cage, but were ultimately denied by Bates at the goal.
The Leopards made their first goal a minute into the game, setting the tone for the offense by Gutierrez. Not long after, Chang-Barnuevo extended the lead over the Tigers to score from the wings.
A penalty by the Leopards resulted in a momentum shift for the Tigers. The penalty led to the Tigers scoring three goals to end the first quarter, 3-2.
“We knew it was going to be a battle because we went into overtime with them at their pool earlier this year, and the same thing happened today,” Nering said.
A minute into the second quarter, the Leopards kicked off with a goal by sophomore attacker Jordan Baker. To once again follow up his teammates, Chang-Barnuevo scored for the Leopards in the sixth minute.
The Tigers answered back with two more goals.
With time running down, the Leopards countered with three goals, one made by sophomore attacker Nico Buono and two more for Chang-Barnuevo to end the second quarter with Leopards on top, 7-6.
In the third quarter there was more action of counter goals with both Tigers and Leopards to score three goals each, two for Trinh and one for Gutierrez, 10-9.
In the fourth quarter, the Tigers started with two goals in the sixth minute to lead the Leopards, 11-10.
A big battle for the win the Tigers scored two more goals against the Leopards’ three goals made by Chang-Barnuevo, Trinh and Baker, which ended the fourth in a tie, 13-13, forcing overtime play.
Intensity was felt from both sides as the pressure became to build, both teams looking to capitalize on mistakes and penalties.
“The plan was just to cross, then go four or five zones if we needed it, then they sort of adjusted about moving their center away from the three posts, so we went to an ‘M,’ which we’ve done regularly throughout the season,” head coach Pat Beemer said.
In overtime, both teams scored two goals, ending in another tied up score. However, Chang-Barnuevo scored the final goal of the game, ending in a sweet victory for the seniors, 16-15.
“It was a fantastic and challenging game. It’s always exciting to win, but most importantly we’re happy we can send our seniors off with this feeling,” Beemer said.
“I just trusted my boys in the water and they got it done,” Rios said.
The Leopards end the season 8-20 overall and 3-9 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Stephanie Amaya can be reached at stephanie.amaya@laverne.edu.
Stephanie Amaya is a senior communications major with a concentration in public relations and a staff photographer for the Campus Times. She has previously served as a staff writer.
Jonas Holt is a senior journalism major with a concentration in print and online journalism. He is sports editor of the Campus Times, a staff writer for La Verne Magazine and staff photographer for both publications. He has previously been a staff writer for the Campus Times.
