Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

LA VERNE, Calif. – After a narrow victory against Cal Lutheran University earlier in the week, the Whittier College Women's Water Polo team came out fired up Saturday as they held off the University of La Verne 9-6.

With the win the Purple & Gold remain undefeated in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play as they move to 12-14, 4-0 SCIAC, while sitting atop the SCIAC Standings.

The Poets used a 7-0 run in the first half that lifted them to the solid win on the road at the La Verne Aquatic Center.  Whittier proved to tough on defense for the Leopards as they shut them down in the first half. 

Whittier held a slight 2-1 lead after the first quarter with goals from Zyania Morales (Commerce, Calif.) and Kendyl Riley (Huntington Beach, Calif.), both being assisted by Jenel Rivera (Whittier, Calif.).  But in the second, the Poets put the game away outscoring ULV 6-0 to take an 8-1 lead into the break. 

La Verne bounced back in the second half to outscore WC 5-1, which included a shutout in the fourth but it wouldn't be enough to complete the comeback as Whittier held on for the three-goal victory.

Six different players scored for the Poets with Morales, Riley, and Lindsay Shoaff (Costa Mesa, Calif.) each adding two apiece, while Rivera finished with an impressive stat line of a goal, two assists, two exclusions and a steal.

Katia Montoya (Riverside, Calif.) got the start in goal once again and came up big with 10 saves in 32:00 of action.      

Whittier hosts the University of Redlands this Wednesday, April 5 beginning at 7:00pm before taking on Caltech for Senior Day on Saturday, March 8 beginning at 11:00am.