LA VERNE, Calif. - On the road this morning the Cal Lutheran men's water polo team earned their first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) victory of the season by defeating La Verne 13-9 at Las Flores Park.

A breakout third frame was the difference maker after the teams exchanged goal-for-goal in the first, second and fourth frames. At halftime the sides were knotted at 3-3, but after the intermission an eight goal third for CLU was countered with just four from La Verne to propel the visiting group to the win.

Another well-balanced attack saw six different Kingsmen find the back of the net with AJ Franklin and Zach Graper eachscoring a hat-trick. Both Mike Arteaga and Asante Sefa-Boakye added a pair and a goal apiece from Shea Craig, Taylor McMaster and Nathan Ortega rounded out the offense. Craig and goalkeeper Jesse Owen each handed out two assists and Franklin, McMaster, Zack Card and Jake Gallagher added one as well. CLU combined for six drawn ejections in the win.

Defensively, a dozen different players notched at least one steal to total 16 takeaways with Card, Craig, Owen and Sefa-Boakye leading the way by each grabbing two. In all 32 minutes guarding the cage, Owen finished with 12 saves.

Cal Lutheran (5-11, 1-2) returns to the Samuelson Aquatics Center on Wednesday, Oct. 29 to host Caltech for a 4:00 p.m. first sprint.

Box Score: CLU 13, LV 9 - box score unavailable at time of release.
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