The University of Redlands men's water polo team held on for an important victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Wednesday night, prevailing by a score of 15-13 to remain undefeated in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action.
The Bulldogs held a 5-4 lead after the first period but the Stags rallied back to eventually tie the game at seven apiece at the half.
During the third period, the Maroon and Gray faced a one-goal deficit with time running out. After a CMS shot went wide, the Bulldogs created an offensive opportunity when sophomore goalkeeper Jessie Gunther (Perris, CA) passed the ball to junior center Blake vanHartesvelt (Mercer Island, WA), who rocketed one past the Stag goalkeeper to make it 11 all at the buzzer.
The Bulldogs garnered a two-goal lead early in the final frame and simply held off the Stags to capture the exciting 15-13 victory.
Junior center-defender Andrew Smith-Jones (Annapolis, MD) led all scorers with an impressive six-goal outburst. Senior center Brendan Meaney (Palm Desert, CA) recorded a hat trick, while senior driver Drew Fischer (Highland, CA) and vanHartesvelt tallied two scores each. Sophomore driver Zac Chierici (Millbrae, CA) and freshman center-defender Spencer Peugh (Alamo, CA) both recorded one goal.
Gunther came up with nine saves for the Bulldogs.
Midway through the round-robin schedule, Redlands (13-12, 4-0 SCIAC) sits atop the SCIAC standings with an undefeated record. The Bulldogs host the Poets of Whittier College on Saturday at 11 a.m. before welcoming the Panthers of Chapman University to the Thompson Aquatic Center for a non-conference bout at 3 p.m.
