The 18th-ranked University of Redlands men's water polo team made the trek to Northern California for the UC Davis Aggie shootout this weekend. During Saturday's slate of competition, the Bulldogs faced off against No. 4 California and then took on the host school, No. 13 UC Davis.
The Cal Bears provided a very tough assignment for the Maroon and Gary, but Redlands stepped up its play in the opening frame to keep the score tight. Senior center Clint Freeman (Brentwood, CA) added two goals, before senior center Grant Harrington (Poway, CA) tied the game up with a laser past the opposing goalie. Senior goalkeeper Tyler Abbott (Alta Loma, CA) provided three clutch saves that made it a 5-6 tally by the end of the first quarter.
Freeman tallied another netter to even the count at the start of the second frame. Despite the Bulldogs' defensive pressure, the Bears began to pull away with a multi-faceted attack.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, sophomore center-defender Jake Funk (Fremont, CA) provided the Maroon and Gray's final oal of the contest with a rocket into the net.
During the final two quarters, freshman goalkeeper Chris Sekula (LaGrange, IL) added three spectacular saves against the Cal squad.
The Bulldogs fell to the national powerhouse by a final score of 8-20.
Later in the afternoon, Redlands returned to action against host and No. 13 UC Davis. At the end of the first quarter, the Maroon and Gray held a slight 3-2 advantage over the Aggies. Freeman led the way in the scoring column with two more goals to add to his impressive start of the year.
Senior driver Quinn Curl (San Mateo, CA) added to the Bulldogs' lead in the second quarter with a goal, which propelled the team into halftime up by a score of 6-3.
Redlands nabbed a four-goal advantage after junior center-defender David Sekula (LaGrange, IL) found the back of the Aggie net less than one minute in the third frame.
However, Davis quickly responded by firing off four consecutive netters before the end of the period. The Aggie defense continued to impress in the final frame and successfully kept the Bulldogs at bay.
Redlands missed out on the upset in a tough physical battle, losing to the Aggies by a score of 7-11.
Abbott provided a tough target while tallying four saves for Redlands.
Freshman center-defender Mark Zikov (La Quinta, CA) and senior center-defender Christian Ogawa (San Diego, CA) each added goals for the Maroon and Gray.
The Bulldogs look forward to day two of the Aggie Shootout, as they face off against No. 15 Santa Clara University at 10 a.m. and then take on Fresno Pacific University at 1:30 p.m.
