Leopards Win At Claremont Convergence

The University of La Verne women's water polo team co-hosted the Claremont Convergence this past weekend, and earned their first win of the 2009 season in an exciting come-from-behind overtime finish. The Leopards also faced Fresno Pacific, Macalester, and Washington & Jefferson.

La Verne kicked off the tournament with a rematch against Fresno Pacific, a team they had faced the previous weekend at the CLU Spring Classic. Freshman Diane Aquayo would score in the first and the second quarter, but the Leopards would find themselves trailing at the half. They would have trouble finding the back of the net in the second half, until Liz Roberts finally scored late in the fourth quarter. It was not enough, as the Sunbirds would string together a run, topping the Leopards 7-3. The Leopards' offensive woes would continue in the second game against Macalester, and while Tiffany Martin would grab 3 steals and win 3 of the 4 sprints, Macalester would take an 8-4 final.

Aquayo continued her strong play on Sunday against a very aggressive Washington & Jefferson team. She would score La Verne's only two goals of the match, and the Leos would drop their third game of the tournament 11-2.

La Verne would struggle at the beginning of the final game against Carthage College, falling behind 4-1 at the end of the first half following a Melinda Fairman goal. The Leopards came back strong in the second half, as Fairman would add two more on breakaway goals. Aquayo would also find the back of the net to tie it up after three quarters. Carthage would score two quick goals in the fourth, but Roberts would bring the Leopards back within one with just under two minutes left to play. With 1:15 left in regulation, Roberts scored her second goal of the match to tie the game and send it into overtime. Once in extra minutes, La Verne would seal the game with a Aquayo's second goal of the match and Fairman's fourth goal of the day. Carthage scored in the last 30 seconds, but it was not enough, as La Verne would come away with an 8-7 victory in overtime.

Goalkeeper Lindsay Jones continues her strong play in 2009 by recording 47 saves over the weekend, making it the second tournament in a row tallying over 10 saves a game.

La Verne will hit the water again this Saturday with a rematch against Macalester College at the La Verne Aquatics Center. The match will begin at 10:00am.