Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
WHITTIER, Calif. – The Whittier College Men's Water Polo team kept their conference winning streak intact Saturday morning cruising past the University of La Verne 15-10 at the Lillian Slade Aquatic Center.
The Purple & Gold have now won four Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) games in a row and move to 12-11, 7-3 SCIAC. They currently sit 3rd in the SCIAC Standings.
ULV started off quickly with the first two goals of the contest. But after that it was all Whittier outscoring the Leopards 4-1 over the final four minutes of the first quarter. Hans Zdolsek (Linkoping, Sweden) led the charge with the first two goals and was joined by Chad Portugal (La Habra Heights, Calif.) and Nick Hyden (Melbourne, Australia) as WC led 4-3.
The Purple & Gold stretched the lead in the second outscoring ULV 4-0 with Hyden and Eric Borunda (Whittier, Calif.) capitalizing on man-up opportunities and then Zdolsek and Hyden tacking on another two moving the score to 8-3 at the break.
The offense came alive in the third quarter with a combined ten goals being scored. ULV added the first two goals of the frame but after that Borunda, Carlos Heredia Viteri (Commerce, Calif.) and Malcolm Niskey (El Cajon, Calif.) would score four of the next five to extend the advantage. The Leopards tacked on another two, which included converting a 5-meter penalty but as time wound down, Kyle Aguilar (Corona, Calif.) would move the deficit back to five getting fed by Andrew Valencia (La Mirada, Calif.).
Over the final eight minutes, ULV managed to add two, which included another 5-meter penalty but it wouldn't be enough to spark a comeback as Cornelis Kriek (Pretoria, South Africa) and Quinn LaCoursiere (Delray Beach, FL) would provide the final two connections putting the game out of reach.
Murat Ersoz (Istanbul, Turkey) played all 32:00 minutes and finished with 13 saves and two steals.
Zdolsek led the offense with four goals, an assist and a steal and Borunda tacked on three goals, two assists and a steal.
