The University of Redlands men's water polo team capped off the dual-match portion of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) season with a solid 13-9 victory over Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks on Saturday. After taking a 6-5 lead through halftime, the Bulldogs ignited their offense and stepped up their defense to secure the solid finish over the Kingsmen.
A tight first quarter led to a 2-3 deficit for the Maroon and Gray, before freshman driver Spencer Allen (Long Beach, CA) evened the tally with his second goal of the game with 5:35 left in the second quarter.
However, CLU responded with back-to-back goals, which forced the Bulldogs to play catch-up late in the second stanza. A quick run propelled Redlands ahead by a 6-5 advantage, with senior driver Zac Polmanteer (Long Beach, CA), sophomore center Billy Clifford (Redlands, CA), and junior center-defender Max Taylor (Henderson, NV) each finding the back of the net for the Maroon and Gray.
During the third period, Taylor kept firing on all cylinders, uncorking all four Bulldog goals for the visitors' 10-7 lead.
Redlands closed out the game with 3-2 run to secure the win, as freshman driver Kyle Jackson (Naperville, IL), senior center-defender Mark Zikov (La Quinta, CA), and Polmanteer provided scores.
Senior goalkeeper Chris Sekula (LaGrange, IL) remained steadfast in the cage while allowing no more than three goals in a quarter. Unfortunately, no statistics for saves were available but it was noted that he stopped a five-meter attempt by the Kingsmen.
Redlands (16-14, 5-3 SCIAC) looks forward to competing in the SCIAC Championship Tournament as the No. 4 seed on Friday, November 18, through Sunday, November 20, at Pasadena City College.
