REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Men's Water Polo team (15-6, 6-1 SCIAC) outscored Chapman University 9-3 in the second half of their 13-5 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) win Saturday morning at the Thompson Aquatic Center (TAC).
After more than four minutes of scoreless water polo
Spencer Sellwood (Irvine, CA) scored at the 3:43 mark of the first as
Dean Moody (Camarillo, CA) found him for the opening goal.
In the final minute of the first quarter
Andrew Higginson (San Diego, CA) and
Alec Abrahamian (Glendale, CA) each scored as the Bulldogs led 3-0 after one. Sellwood got the assist on Abrahamian's connection.
The Panthers' defense was strong in a very sloppy second quarter as they did not allow a goal for the first seven plus minutes while their offense scored twice to draw within one, 3-2.
Max Wagener (Piedmont, CA), however, converted on a five-meter penalty with :54 seconds remaining in the half as Redlands led 4-2 after 16 minutes.
Higginson would score on a powerplay to open the second half before the Panthers matched the goal at the 4:00 minute mark. The next two goals came from
Nicolas Fedotov (Miami Beach, FL) who scored off a
Ron Gvishi (Kiryat Tivon, Israel) assist before scoring :30 seconds later as Higginson set him up for a 7-3 lead with 3:10 left in the period.
Chapman would score the final goal of the third to make it a three-goal differential heading into the fourth, but in those final eight minutes the Bulldogs pulled away with a 6-1 effort.
In the fourth
Tanner Whitson (St. Louis, MO) found Abrahamian for the first goal. Moody then scored :18 seconds later as
Owen DeCourcy (Alameda, CA) found the back of the net for the first time. The Panthers made it a four-goal game with 5:57 still to play, but DeCourcy, Higginson, Gvishi, and Fedotov all scored to complete the win.
Andrew Sorensen (Long Beach, CA) picked up an assist on the DeCourcy's score as did
Roberto Barerra (Guanajuato, Mexico) on Fedotov's.
Higginson and Fedotov each scored hat tricks with Moody assisting on a pair. In goal Barerra had 10 saves for a .667 save percentage and added an assist and two steals.
The Bulldogs will host non-conference opponent Biola University on Tuesday, October 24 at 7:00 p.m. inside the TAC.
