Rubbie Chavez
Staff Writer
The men’s water polo team ended their season with a loss against the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags, 18-9, Saturday at the La Verne Aquatic Center.
“I thought we kept the game close within three. We still had some reach but I think in the last quarter we kind of ran out of gas,” head coach Robert Echeverria said. “So then I started rotating the guys in, so that inexperience kind of showed against a really good team like CMS.”
The first quarter of the game started off slow for the Leopards.
The Stags started off strong with four consecutive goals.
Sophomore utility Josh Lamberton and junior utility Timothy Robles both scored, putting up the first points for the Leopards.
While the defense tried to keep the score close, the Stags continued through the first period attacking the Leopards.
The Stags eventually scored two more goals before the period ended, making the score 6-2.
“I thought it was a very competitive game. CMS is ranked No. 2,” Lamberton said. “A lot of our players are new, like freshmen, coming out of high school, so it might be a little tough for them, but, you know, everyone pushed to their limits.”
Lamberton scored five goals against the Stags.
The Leopards made sure their defense and offense started off strong in the second period.
Junior attacker Jordan Baker scored two goals and freshman utility William Roby Unkovich scored one.
The Stags ended up scoring three more goals, and going into the half the Stags were up, 9-5.
“Overall, I mean, it was a solid game,” Baker said. “I think a lot of us are just kind of looking forward to the off season, training together and coming back next year.”
Baker scored two goals and one assist against the Stags.
The Stags started with the first goal of the third quarter but right after, the Leopards offense attacked back.
Lamberton scored three goals in the third period, holding down the offense for the Leopards.
The Stags ended up coming back and scoring six goals lengthening their lead to 15-8.
“I think we did pretty good, honestly,” Robles said. “We kept up for the first half, just kept scoring, so I think our team did pretty good, like, just persevering.”
Robles had one goal against the Stags.
The Leopards defense was strong in the fourth quarter and it was not until the sixth minute when the Stags got their first goal. They went on to score two more goals in the period.
The Leopards’ last goal was scored by Lamberton in the last two minutes of the period.
The final score was 18-9 Stags.
The Leopards finished the season 9-18 overall and 2-10 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Conference, and look ahead to next season.
“I think bringing more depth to the roster will help us come back,” Echeverria said. “So recruiting heavily and adding more experience to our team is gonna be the key to being competitive in this conference next season.”
Rubbie Chavez can be reached at rubbie.chavez@laverne.edu.
Rubbie Chavez is a senior communications major with a concentration in public relations, and a staff writer for the Campus Times. She is also a dedicated photographer for La Verne Athletics, and her passion for storytelling and sports through dynamic visual content. Her work can also be found on Instagram or at gfxbyrubbie.myportfolio.com
