The University of Redlands men's water polo team traveled over to host Chapman University this afternoon for its first game of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championships. After earning the No. 3 seed in the tournament, Redlands battled it out with No. 6 Cal Lutheran University in the teams' opener. In a hard-fought battle, the Bulldogs never trailed in an 8-6 decision over the Kingsmen, propelling the Maroon and Gray into the semifinals.
Redlands wasted no time in taking an early lead, as senior center Grant Harrington (Poway, CA) netted the first goal of the contest. In addition, junior driver Michael Robinson (Corona, CA) fired off a shot into the back of the net before senior center Clint Freeman (Brentwood, CA) secured the team's third score of the period. The Bulldogs' tough defense was instrumental in the first frame, as the Maroon and Gray held Cal Lutheran to only one goal, with senior goalkeeper Tyler Abbott (Alta Loma, CA) capturing three of his 12 saves of the match during this stretch.
After the teams traded scores in the second stanza, Redlands maintained its two-goal lead at 5-3 midway through the contest.
Early in the third, Freeman nailed another goal to give the Bulldogs some breathing room. But the Kingsmen answered with back-to-back goals to cut the lead down to just one.
However, junior center-defender David Sekula (LaGrange, IL) uncorked an important netter to make it 7-5 for Redlands with 3:34 remaining in the fourth period.
Freeman then added his game-high fourth score en route to the Bulldogs' first victory of the tournament.
With its first-round win, Redlands now faces No. 2-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in Saturday's semifinal match at the Allred Aquatics Center on the campus of Chapman University. The first whistle is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Fans may follow the action via live streaming at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/chapman.portal.
