While competing in its final Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) dual-match of the regular season, the University of Redlands men's water polo team captured an exciting 14-9 win over Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Wednesday night at the Thompson Aquatic Center. With the victory, the Bulldogs clinched the No. 3 seed for the upcoming SCIAC Tournament, which takes place on November 22-24.
Against the Sagehens, sophomore driver John Koning (Poway, CA) netted the first goal of the game less than two minutes into the action. Shortly thereafter, senior center Clint Freeman (Brentwood, CA) rifled a shot past the oncoming goalkeeper to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. However, the Sagehens retaliated with four unanswered goals, before senior driver Quinn Curl (San Mateo, CA) halted the opponents' momentum with his first score of the game.
Later in the frame, the teams traded scores, with Freeman adding his second goal to cut the Maroon and Gray's deficit to one at 4-5.
During the second stanza, Redlands looked to senior goalkeeper Tyler Abbott (Alta Loma, CA) to keep the Sagehens out of the net. He went on to collect eight saves during the match.
Offensively, the Bulldogs responded with four consecutive netters during the frame to take an 8-5 advantage. Senior center Grant Harrington (Poway, CA) tied up the game in the middle of the frame with his first goal of the game. This inspired Freeman, freshman center-defender Danny Hartwig (Vista, CA), and Koning to find the back of the net for the Maroon and Gray.
After a quick goal by the Sagehens to open the third, Redlands continued to impress defensively while scoring six unanswered goals through the four-minute mark of the final period. During this stretch, Curl and freshman center-defender Mark Zikov (La Quinta, CA) combined for three more netters.
Watch the Bulldogs move the ball around to set up one of Curl's goals.
In addition, senior center-defender David Sekula (LaGrange, IL) uncorked a hat trick for the Maroon and Gray.
Watch one of Sekula's goals.
Although Pomona-Pitzer managed three goals in the fourth quarter, it was not enough, as the Bulldogs prevailed by a score of 14-9.
After the game, Curl shared his thoughts on the overall performance of the team as well as the significance of the win.
As the No. 3 seed, the Bulldogs (17-13, 6-2 SCIAC) look forward to competing in the 2013 SCIAC Men's Water Polo Tournament on November 22-24 at Chapman University in Orange, CA. The complete schedule will not be available until all of the SCIAC dual-games have been played on Saturday, November 16. Check back at www.goredlands.com for updates.
