After a rough start to the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) season, the University of Redlands men's water polo team returned to the win column with a 10-8 victory over Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks on Wednesday afternoon. Down by one to start the third period, the Bulldogs rallied for four unanswered goals to take a lead that they never relinquished.
Freshman driver Kevin Chapa (Carlsbad, CA) and sophomore center-defender Mark Zikov (La Quinta, CA) initiated the scoring for the Bulldogs, propelling them to a 2-1 advantage after the first frame.
From here, the teams traded scores until the Kingsmen fired off consecutive goals to take a brief 4-3 lead midway through the second stanza.
But the Maroon and Gray quickly responded when senior center Alex Keith (Bellevue, WA) found the back of the net to even the count at four apiece.
Cal Lutheran snagged another advantage at 5-4, but it was short-lived, as the Bulldogs uncorked four unanswered netters to make it 8-5 after the third period. Junior center John Koning (Poway, CA) initiated the offensive outburst, while sophomore drive Zac Polmanteer (Long Beach, CA) connected on back-to-back scores for Redlands. Senior center David Sekula (LaGrange, IL) concluded the strong stanza for the Bulldogs by finding the back of the net with just over a minute to go.
Although the Kingsmen cut the deficit to two, Redlands maintained its lead through the final whistle, with freshman center Matthew Shippen (Santa Maria, CA) and Sekula providing important goals.
Sophomore goalkeeper Chris Sekula (LaGrange, IL) patrolled the cage for the Maroon and Gray, racking up nine stops in the win.
Redlands (6-19, 2-4 SCIAC) returns home to the Thompson Aquatic Center on Wed., Nov. 12, for a 7 p.m. showdown against the University of La Verne Leopards.
