The University of Redlands men's water polo team traveled to No. 16 Loyola Marymount University for a non-conference bout with the Lions on Thursday afternoon. After trailing by only one after the first frame, the Bulldogs struggled to find their offensive rhythm and suffered a 5-10 loss.
Sophomore driver Zac Polmanteer (Long Beach, CA) put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard with 6:58 left in the opening period for an early 1-0 lead.
However, the Lions responded with three-consecutive scores before sophomore center-defender Mark Zikov (La Quinta, CA) cut the Maroon and Gray's deficit to one by finding the back of the net with 1:28 to play in the stanza.
Unfortunately for Redlands, LMU enjoyed a 5-1 run through the end of the third period to ultimately secure the win. Sophomore driver Kyle Murata (Brea, CA) netted the sole Bulldog goal during this stretch.
Nonetheless, the Bulldogs went toe-to-toe in the final quarter, matching the home squad's goal total at two. Senior center David Sekula (LaGrange, IL) and freshman center Matthew Shippen (Santa Maria, CA) registered the fourth-quarter scores for Redlands.
Sophomore goalkeeper Chris Sekula (LaGrange, IL) performed admirably in the loss, recording 13 stops in a full-game effort between the pipes.
Redlands (4-14) looks forward to opening Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) competition on Saturday at 11 a.m. against Whittier College. The Bulldogs also host their annual alumni game in honor of Homecoming at 2 p.m. that day.
