The University of Redlands men's water polo team opened its season at the UC San Diego Triton Invitational over the weekend, registering an upset-victory over No. 12 Air Force Academy on Sunday in overtime, 12-11. Led by senior center Clint Freeman (Brentwood, CA), the Bulldogs never trailed against the Falcons and won their first game of the season in dramatic fashion.
In the contest against Air Force, the U of R nabbed a 2-1 lead by the end of the first period behind goals by Freeman and senior driver Keaton Lynn (Oakley, CA). The two sides continued to trade goals, giving the Bulldogs a one-score advantage at 5-4 by the end of the second frame.
In the third stanza, Freeman found the back of the net again for the Bulldogs, giving the squad an 8-7 lead heading into the fourth period.
Senior driver Quinn Curl (San Mateo, CA) scored just 14 seconds into the fourth period, extending the advantage to two. However, a pair of scores from the Falcons tied the contest at 9-9 with less than three minutes to go in regulation. But Redlands responded with a timely goal from junior center-defender David Sekula (LaGrange, IL) to regain the lead. Redlands held that advantage all until Air Force fired off the tying goal with just six ticks left on the clock, sending the game to overtime.
In the first overtime period, freshman center-defender Danny Hartwig (Vista, CA) scored a crucial goal to put the Bulldogs back up, 11-10. Then, in the second overtime, the Falcons responded once again with a tying goal with 1:36 left on the clock. Unfazed, Freeman immediately answered for Redlands, registering his sixth score of the contest with only 1:17 remaining. The goal proved to be the game-winner for the Bulldogs, as the team celebrated its first win of the campaign.
In the victory, Sekula complemented Freeman's six scores with two of his own, while Lynn, Curl, Hartwig, and junior driver Michael Robinson (Corona, CA) each chipped in one goal.
Between the pipes, senior goalkeeper Tyler Abbott (Alta Loma, CA) racked up seven critical saves in the tight triumph.
The U of R also competed in three other contests at the Triton Invite, taking on top-ranked Division I foes. The Bulldogs fell to No. 11 UC San Diego in its season opener by a score of 8-12, before suffering through losses against No. 4 UC Berkeley and No. 1 USC.
Against UC San Diego, Freeman once again led the way with three scores, while Robinson provided two. In addition, Sekula, sophomore driver Paul Smallman (San Carlos, CA), and sophomore center-defender Nelson Glendinning (Philadelphia, PA) each found the back of the net once.
In the second game on Saturday against the Cal Bears, Freeman notched two scores and junior driver Mike Pounds (Lake Elsinore, CA) recorded one.
In the final contest of the weekend against the top-ranked Trojans, Bulldog senior center-defender Christian Ogawa (San Diego, CA) and senior center Grant Harrington (Poway, CA) provided one goal each, while Freeman tallied two.
The U of R returns home to host the Inland Empire Classic on Saturday and Sunday at the Thompson Aquatic Center. In their opening game of the tournament, the Bulldogs face off against No. 2 UCLA at 9 a.m.
