The University of Redlands men's water polo opened the 2014 season at the high-caliber UC San Diego Triton Invitational over the weekend and faced four nationally-ranked, NCAA Division I opponents. Despite missing out on the victory in all matches, the Bulldogs cut down their goal differential in three of four games while improving their offensive output in each contest.
The Bulldogs gained incredible experience against some of the best teams in the country, battling with No. 3 UCLA, No. 7 UC Santa Barbara, No. 2 USC, and No. 10 UC San Diego throughout the weekend. Redlands recorded a pair of lopsided losses on Friday against UCLA (L 1-27) and UC Santa Barbara (L 3-14), but showed improvement in Saturday's opener against USC by scoring seven goals in the 7-27 defeat. The Bulldogs then put up a great fight that left a positive feeling in the pool at the tournament's end by competing against the host school in an 8-12 loss.
After falling behind by a score of 2-5 in the first quarter, the Bulldogs came storming back to cut the deficit to one. Junior center John Koning (Poway, CA) jumped out with two goals in the second frame, while freshman driver Kevin Chapa (Carlsbad, CA) followed suit with a goal of his own. The Bulldogs outscored the Tritons by a 3-1 margin in the second period, bringing them within one score midway through the contest.
However, the momentum shifted back in favor of the Tritons, as junior center-driver Jake Funk (Fremont, CA) netted the lone Bulldog goal of the third quarter.
With Redlands trailing by four at the start of the fourth period, the Bulldogs sill had time and opportunity to rally a comeback. After Koning provided his third goal of the contest, sophomore center-driver Mark Zikov (La Quinta, CA) fired a shot passed the Triton goalie to make it a three-goal game. However, time ran out on the Bulldogs, as the Tritons netted another score with just over a minute to go.
Sophomore goalie Chris Sekula (La Grange, IL) racked up 14 saves throughout the contest.
The Bulldogs (0-4) look forward to hosting the Inland Empire Classic on Saturday, September 13, and Sunday, September 14, at the Thompson Aquatic Center. Redlands opens the competition with Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) foes, Chapman University at 9 a.m. and Occidental College at 11:40 a.m. On Saturday, the Maroon and Gray takes on the Air Force Academy at 9 a.m., followed by top-ranked Stanford at 1 p.m.
