The Bulldog men's water polo team nabbed two hard-fought victories on Saturday, prevailing over Chapman University on the road before returning home to the Thompson Aquatic Center for a 9-7 win over Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) foe Occidental College.
Against the Panthers, Redlands faced seven ties in the game but trailed only once at 8-9 at the end of the second period. The team responded with three unanswered scores as junior driver Shane Anderson (Riverside, CA), sophomore driver Clint Freeman (Brentwood, CA) and senior driver Cabot Ferrill (Poway, CA) unleashed consecutive goals for the Bulldogs.
However, Chapman quickly rallied back one last time to knot the score at 11-all.
The Bulldogs came storming back, finishing out the game with a 3-1 run to secure the 14-12 victory. During this stretch, Freeman posted two more netters for a hat-trick performance in the game.
Anderson also recorded a hat trick in the victory, while Ferrill, senior center Blake vanHartesvelt (Mercer Island, WA) and senior driver Jeff Parsons (Newark, CA) scored two apiece. Sophomore driver Quinn Curl (San Mateo, CA) and sophomore center Grant Harrington (Poway, CA) each found the back of the net on one occasion.
Junior goalkeeper Jessie Gunther (Perris, CA) and sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Abbott (Alta Loma, CA) shared time between the pipes, recording nine and four saves, respectively.
Redlands returned to action for a nightcap against the Tigers of Occidental. The Bulldogs kept things interesting but never faced a deficit in this important conference match.
Leading the offensive charge, vanHartesevelt tallied a trio of goals for the Bulldogs. Senior driver Danny Boessenecker (Clayton, CA) and Freeman each scored twice, while Anderson and Curl provided one netter apiece.
Abbott and Gunther again split time in the cage, posting three saves each.
Redlands (12-13, 3-0 SCIAC) welcomes the Stags of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges to the Thompson Aquatic Center on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. SCIAC showdown.
