The University of Redlands men's water polo kicked off Homecoming Saturday with an impressive 11-4 victory over the visiting Tigers of Occidental College at the Thompson Aquatic Center. With patience and poise, the Bulldogs wore down their opponents with their depth and defense in a solid outing.
Redlands jumped out to a 3-0 lead with goals by freshman driver Kyle Jackson (Naperville, IL), senior center-defender Danny Hartwig (Vista, CA), and junior center Matt Shippen (Santa Maria, CA)
However, the Tigers rallied back to cut the deficit to one early in the second frame. But the small lead was short-lived, as the Bulldogs fired off three-straight goals to make it 6-2 at the midway point of the game. Following senior driver Kyle Murata's (Brea, CA) goal, the Maroon and Gray gained back-to-back scores from junior center-defender Max Taylor (Henderson, NV).
The home team remained ahead through the final whistle en route to the seven-goal win. Contributing to the Bulldogs' well-rounded offense, freshman center Cooper Krause (Denver, CO) and freshman driver Cole Kammerer (San Diego, CA) each added a score, while Hartwig finished the game with a hat trick.
Senior goalkeeper Chris Sekula (LaGrange, IL) provided five quality saves between the pipes, before giving way to freshman goalkeeper Braeden Shaw (Yorba Linda, CA), who made one stop in the final quarter.
Redlands (13-10, 2-0 SCIAC) heads to Caltech on Wednesday, October 26, for a conference showdown against the Beavers at 4 p.m.
