The University of Redlands men's water polo team jumped back into action today in the Gary Troyer Memorial Tournament against Fordham University (NY) and Johns Hopkins University (MD). The Bulldogs would go on to split the two toughly fought contests, defeating Fordham, 11-9, while stumbling to Johns Hopkins, 5-11.
In the first match of the day against Fordham, the Maroon and Gray fell behind early. Senior center Clint Freeman (Brentwood, CA) got the Bulldogs on the board first and senior driver Keaton Lynn (Oakley, CA) added a goal of his own shortly thereafter.
At the beginning of the second quarter, senior driver Quinn Curl (San Mateo, CA) put the Bulldogs within striking distance when he netted back-to-back goals. Not long after, junior driver Michael Robinson (Corona, CA) gave the U of R its first lead of the day.
In the third period, senior goalkeeper Tyler Abbott (Alta Loma, CA) kept the Rams out of the net with two of his 11 saves in the match. Down a goal, senior center Grant Harrington (Poway, CA) found the back of the net to tie the match at 7-7. Then, senior center-defender Christian Ogawa (San Diego, CA) gave the Maroon and Gray a lead which it never relinquished.
Curl and Freeman each added their third goals of the game to cap off the exciting two-goal triumph.
Later that afternoon, the Bulldogs dove back into the pool against Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays were ranked No. 2 in the Division III rankings prior to the contest.
In the first quarter, freshman center-defender Mark Zikov (LaQuinta, CA) netted his first goal to even the match at 1-1. The Blue Jays continued to apply defensive pressure and used impressive goalkeeping to not let up another Bulldog goal until the third quarter.
After a long drought, junior driver Michael Robinson (Corona, CA) registered an impressive goal for the Maroon and Gray. Later in the fourth, sophomore driver Paul Smallman (San Mateo, CA) executed his first goal of the day to try and pull the Bulldogs closer. Robinson later added two more goals to lessen the deficit, but the Blue Jays defensive display was too much for the Bulldogs as they fell by six scores.
Redlands (10-10) returns home this Friday for a match against Connecticut College at 7 p.m.
