CLAREMONT, Calif. – The No. 2 ranked University of Redlands Men's Water Polo team (13-12, 9-2 SCIAC) played at No. 1 Pomona-Pitzer Saturday morning with sole possession of first place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings on the line with only a week to play. After trailing early, the Bulldogs mounted a comeback but it would fall short 12-10.
Redlands trailed 2-0 after the first quarter and it took nearly ten minutes before Max Wagener (Piedmont, CA) put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard. After conceding a third goal, Owen Nishimura (Carlsbad, CA) found Spencer Clinton (Cypress, CA) to pull UR within one, 3-2.
The Sagehens scored the final goal of the first half and the first two of the second as they increased their lead to four, 6-2, midway through the third quarter.
Wagener and the Bulldogs, though, fought back with back-to-back tallies off assists from Ron Gvishi (Kiryat Tivon, Israel) and Dean Moody (Camarillo, CA). The goals made it a two-goal deficit with 1:42 left in the period.
Pomona-Pitzer would beat Roberto Barrera (Guanajuato, Mexico) two more times in the final 1:24 of the third, but a Clinton-assisted, Moody goal with only :15 seconds remaining kept the Maroon and Grey close after 24 minutes, 8-5.
There were 13 combined goals in the first three quarters and nine across the final 8:00 minutes. Redlands closed within two, 9-7, after Gvishi and Moody each beat Sagehen goalkeeper Liam Byrne.
Any real chance at completing their comeback attempt ended after the second of two consecutive goals from the Sagehens with 2:38 to play.
Despite the odds Nicolas Fedotov (Miami Beach, FL) would go off with two-straight goals and then with :30 seconds left Moody brought the U of R to within one for the first time since the second period.
The problem was with :30 seconds left Pomona-Pitzer could run out the clock against the Redlands press. The Sagehens did, however, find a window to shoot with one second left to make it a two-goal victory.
Gvishi had a goal, two assists, a drawn exclusion, and a career-high seven steals. Moody finished with a team-high four points on three goals and an assist. Wagener matched his hat trick. Clinton continued to do the little things defensively with three drawn exclusions and a steal; he also added a goal and two assists. Barrera in goal made five saves and had a steal.
Redlands ends their regular season with a road trip to the University of La Verne next Wednesday, November 13 at 4:00 p.m. The Bulldogs have locked up at minimum the No. 2 seed in the upcoming SCIAC Tournament as they hold the tiebreaker over third place Chapman University.
