The University of Redlands men's water polo team squared off against Cal Lutheran University in this season's final Saturday match at home and celebrated six talented contributors on Senior Day. It was only fitting that the Bulldogs came away with an 11-8 victory over the Kingsmen for a memorable Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) triumph at the Thompson Aquatic Center.
Senior driver Quinn Curl (San Mateo, CA) captured the first goal of the game to give the Bulldogs an early lead. Later in the first, senior center Clint Freeman (Brentwood, CA) added two more scores, creating a 3-1 advantage for the Maroon and Gray.
Early in the second period, Curl fired off a shot past the Kingsmen goalkeeper to put Redlands up by a score of 4-1. The teams traded scores, until the Bulldogs gained a 7-2 lead off of netters by sophomore driver John Koning (Poway, CA), freshman center-defender Danny Hartwig (Vista, CA), and senior center-defender Christian Ogawa (San Diego, CA). Although Cal Lutheran pulled one back, the Bulldogs continued to press the attack with Curl and junior center-defender David Sekula (LaGrange, IL) capping off the Maroon and Gray offense in the second frame.
Redlands continued to lengthen the gap with Curl adding a team-high fourth netter to start the third stanza.
Although the Kingsmen mounted a rally with four consecutive scores, the defensive play of the Bulldogs kept the opponents at bay. Senior goalkeeper Tyler Abbott (Alta Loma, CA) spearheaded the effort with 11 saves, including four in the fourth period. Redlands gained another score from Ogawa en route to the 11-8 decision.
Later that afternoon, the Bulldogs traveled to Cal Baptist University to face the Lancers in a non-conference match. The tight contest came down to the wire, with neither team gaining more than a one-goal advantage until the final minute. The Lancers nabbed the close victory by a score of 6-5.
After the teams traded scores, Harrington gave the Bulldogs their first advantage of the game at 2-1 late in the second frame.
Redlands later regained the lead with a netter by Freeman and then later with Koning's score midway in the third frame.
Tied at four apiece, the Lancers provided a tough finish to the game by adding two goals in the fourth quarter to defeat the Maroon and Gray, 6-5.
Abbott finished out the contest with 13 saves.
The Bulldogs (14-13, 3-2 SCIAC) host Caltech on Wednesday in a SCIAC match at 7 p.m.
