ULV drops dog-fight to Air Force

photo by Amy Babin

Tim Hugar, head coach of the University of La Verne men's water polo team (16-6, 5-1 ), prepares the team to compete in the SCIAC Championship Tournament this weekend at the University of Redlands. The Leopards will face Cal Tech at 8:45 a.m. tomorrow.

by Chrissy Zehrbach
Assistant Editor

The University of La Verne men's water polo team went 1-1 for the weekend, gaining a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over Pomona-Pitzer Saturday and falling to the Air Force Academy Sunday.

The Air Force Falcons made their presence known Sunday, putting a goal on the board less than 30 seconds into the game. La Verne rallied back and scored two goals, contributed by sophomore Mike Saldana and junior Robert Casillas.

Midway through the first period, the Falcons slipped another goal past freshman goalie Ian Thorburn to make the score 2-2 for the remainder of the period.

Thorburn recorded 11 saves in the game, but it was not enough to stop the Air Force from scoring.

The Falcons added two more goals to the score in the second, as La Verne could only manage one. Saldana scored once again for the Leopards, swimming in close for an uncontested goal, making the halftime score 3-4.

"We really needed some of our players to step it up, and Mike Saldana stepped it up," senior co-captain Alex La said.

The Leopards never did recover from the point deficit in the game, however. The Falcons dominated the second half with three goals in the third quarter and two in the fourth, while the Leopards only scored one goal in each, resulting in a final score of 5-9.

"We played well," La said. "We brought it to a level where we have to play."

The non-conference game against the Division I Air Force Academy was a chance for the Leopards to gain experience as playoffs draw closer.

"Because we compete in the WWPA (Western Water Polo Association), this is somebody we could possibly face in the playoffs," head coach Tim Hugar said.

Hugar added that the team did a good job creating scoring opportunities against the Falcons, but simply could not execute. The Leopards were outshot by a narrow margin of 16-18 in the game.

The Leopards took on Pomona-Pitzer in the rain the previous morning, securing their second-place SCIAC standing with an 8-5 win.

Competition was close in the first period as the Sagehens matched the Leopards with two goals apiece.

La Verne increased its lead quickly, scoring three goals in the second period and allowing the Sagehens only one.

The Leopards would continue to score and never look back. In the third period, Casillas fended off two Pomona-Pitzer defenders, sinking a goal just before the shot clock expired to bring the score to 6-3.

The Sagehens responded with a goal in both the third and fourth periods, but a goal from La, and a last minute goal from Casillas in the fourth quarter, increased La Verne's lead to 8-5, not allowing Pomona-Pitzer enough time to retaliate.

"I thought we did some real nice things," Hugar said. "We outplayed them by running good defense and offense."

Excellent defense was provided by Thorburn, who tallied 13 saves in front of the net.

Casillas led in scoring for the Leopards with five goals. La contributed two, and Saldana scored one.

This weekend the Leopards will take part in the SCIAC Championship Tournament, hosted by current conference leaders Redlands. The seven conference teams will face off in head to head competition for the conference title.

As teams win, they will advance toward the finals.

"You advance when you win; you can't win (the title) if you lose early," junior co-captain Jason Walters said. "But we're going to win."

The Leopards will first face Cal Tech at 8:45 a.m tomorrow. The team recently defeated the Beavers 14-5 on Nov. 6 and are looking forward to a repeat victory.

"We're going in seeded second, and I think we did well this weekend," Hugar said. "We've got a good balance with a lot of different strengths; I'm confident we'll do well."

La Verne stands 16-7 overall with a 5-1 SCIAC record. The Leopards' winning record has earned them a No. 2 ranking in the Collegiate Water Polo Association's Division III Top 10 Poll. ULV is second only to the Redlands Bulldogs

The Bulldogs handed ULV its only conference loss of this year on Oct. 30.