The third-seeded University of Redlands men's water polo team competed in a semifinal of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship Tournament on Saturday morning, squaring off against the second-seeded Whittier College Poets in La Verne. Despite a hot start in the first half, the Bulldogs struggled to maintain their offensive rhythm and fell short in a 5-7 decision.
The Maroon and Gray hit the pool in pristine shape by firing off four, first-period goals. Junior driver Zac Polmanteer (Long Beach, CA) registered the first score for Redlands, before senior center-defender Nelson Glendinning (Philadelphia, PA) put the Bulldogs up by a score of 2-1 with 3:24 remaining. Junior center Eugene Lee (La Puente, CA) and senior center John Koning (Poway, CA) each found the back of the net for the Bulldogs' early 4-2 lead after eight minutes of action.
During this stretch, junior goalkeeper Chris Sekula (LaGrange, IL) was a monster between the posts by notching five saves, two of which denied Poet penalty shots.
Scoring came at a premium for both sides in the second period, with Koning providing Redlands' only netter of the frame to keep his team ahead by a slight 5-3 advantage midway through the game.
Unfortunately when the teams switched sides to start the second half, so did the momentum, as the Bulldogs were held scoreless for the remainder of the game, which led to a 5-7 loss to the Poets.
Sekula continued to impress between the posts by reeling in 16 saves on the day. Koning led the squad with two scores.
The Bulldogs (16-14, 7-3 SCIAC) strive to finish out the tournament on a high note when they take to the pool at Las Flores Park on Sunday, November 22. Redlands faces fourth-seeded Chapman University in tomorrow's third-place match at 1:15 p.m.
