The University of Redlands men's water polo team finished up the round-robin schedule of Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) competition on Saturday morning by registering a 17-8 win over Occidental College. The Bulldogs broke an early one-all tie and never looked back en route to the solid victory.
After the teams traded scores early in the game, the Maroon and Gray gained back-to-back goals from senior center John Koning (Poway, CA) and sophomore driver Kevin Chapa (Carlsbad, CA) for the 3-1 advantage at the midway point of the first period.
The Tigers pulled one back, but Redlands erupted for four-consecutive netters to take a commanding lead at 7-2. While Koning and Chapa netted one goal each during this spurt, senior center-defender Jake Funk (Fremont, CA) and junior center-defender Mark Zikov (La Quinta, CA) also jumped on the offensive train for the Bulldogs.
From here, the Maroon and Gray controlled the game, firing off seven goals and holding Oxy to just one score in the third frame, to take home a 17-8 win.
Overall, Chapa, Funk, and Zikov each finished with a hat trick, while Koning and freshman driver Ty Williams (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) scored two apiece. Freshman center Billy Clifford (Redlands, CA), freshman driver Austin Donoghue (Santa Ana, CA), junior driver Kyle Murata (Brea, CA), and sophomore driver Logan Wright (Ladera Ranch, CA) completed the impressive offensive display with one goal each.
Defensively, junior goalkeeper Chris Sekula (LaGrange, IL) secured the Bulldog cage by making 10 saves in three quarters. Sophomore goalkeeper Teddy Best (Vista, CA) finished out the contest with six stops.
Redlands (15-13, 6-2 SCIAC) now sits in a three-way tie for second in the conference standings but will enter the upcoming SCIAC Championship Tournament as the No. 3 seed. The Bulldogs face No. 6-seeded Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in the opening match on Friday, November 20, at the University of La Verne.
