THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) home finale for the Cal Lutheran women's water polo team pitted the Regals against the Leopards from La Verne with the home team earning a 10-7 victory inside of the Samuelson Aquatics Center this afternoon.
On a day when the veterans took the team on their backs, with Adrienne Ingalla recording 11 steals and Amanda Jones scoring four goals with four assists, everyone contributed.
Half way through the first frame Lora Marquez-Salgado got a steal and was one on nobody, scoring the first goal of the game and giving La Verne the early lead.
CLU equalized at the two minute mark, when Audrey Neilan scored on an assist from Sara Simpson.
The second stanza saw the Regals strike first. Jones used a skip shot on an assist from Jordan Card in set after Kaylee Kastrup fed her the ball from the outside. Hannah Andrews tacked on a third CLU goal on a wide open shot off a cross pool pass from Jones.
La Verne used a man-advantage to get back within one and the Leos knotted things up at 3-3 on a second opportunity after Cal Lutheran goalie Gina Merry tipped the ball out of play and on the ensuing Leopards possession, they retook the lead at 4-3.
After winning the third quarter sprint, the Leopards added another pair for a three-goal lead at the 6:14 mark.
The come-back began in the third and continued to the final buzzer.
Jones started to chip away at the deficit with a goal from set after a timeout. She then nabbed a steal and Logan Young passed to KC Brendel who finished off the play and pulled the home team to within one late in the third. In a man-up scenario with 1:11 to play in the period, Jones handed off to Simpson who found the top left corner of the net to tie things up again.
In the fourth quarter Cal Lutheran started to run away with things as Card gave CLU its first lead of the day at 7:29 and Jones added two more goals.
With just 2:31 remaining in regulation, the Leos added to their tally, pulling the score to 9-7, but the Regals would quickly add an insurance goal when Card spun, shooting behind her back, on a perfect pass from Jones for the final scoring play of the day.
Overall, Card finished with two goals, two drawn ejections, two steals and an assist. Defensively, Young tallied three steals and Jones and Simpson recorded two apiece. Merry finished with six saves.
La Verne (5-23, 1-6 SCIAC) was led by Marquez-Salgado and Amber Tardif after each scored twice.
Cal Lutheran (9-19, 5-3 SCIAC) will play in the 2014 SCIAC Championships hosted by Whittier from Friday to Sunday, April 25-27, at the Lillian Slade Aquatics Center. Game times and opponents have not yet been determined.
Box Score: CLU 10, LV 7
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