U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – The University of Redlands Men's Water Polo team (0-4) fell 21-4 to No. 3 University of California, Berkeley Saturday morning. Then in their fourth and final game at the Rare Air Challenge hosted by the Air Force Academy, the Bulldogs lost to Mount St. Mary's University (The Mount) in a tight 17-15 match-up.
Game 1 (No. 3 UC Berkeley; L, 21-4)
The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard first when Joseph Madigan (Arlington, VA) scored :35 seconds into the game.
Following 13 unanswered goals by the Golden Bears, Tim Jensen (Elmhurst, Ill.) found Madigan for his second tally of the game, this time on a powerplay early in the third quarter.
The final two Bulldog strikes came in the last 5:23 when Madigan made it a hat trick with a penalty followed by Brady Bailey (Ramona, CA) scoring :54 seconds later.
Madigan posted three goals, drew an exclusion, and had a steal. Tanner Stagner (Laguna Niguel, CA) also drew an exclusion. Troy Barker (Roseville, CA) and Nathan Gattorna (Carlsbad, CA) split the 32 minutes in goal. Barker had a save and a steal, Gattorna made five saves and took possession away twice.
Game 2 (Mount St. Mary's; L, 17-15)
The two sides played tight throughout with seven ties during the game, which proved to be a competitive back-and-forth match-up.
Lennon Franklin (Redlands, CA) scored the first goal of the game for the U of R on their opening possession. Harrison DeCourcy (Alameda, CA) and Franklin then went back-to-back to give the Bulldogs the 3-2 lead.
Trailing 6-4 in the second quarter Kalani Nelson (Torrance, CA) fed DeCourcy and Jake Simpson (El Cajon, CA) beat the keeper to even the score at six with 4:33 to play in the opening half.
Down by three to begin the second half Simpson converted a penalty just :16 seconds into the third, which sparked a quick 3-0 Bulldog run that tied the game at 10-10 in less than two minutes of play to start the quarter.
The Mountaineers responded with a key 5-1 run that put them on top by four, 15-11, as the third quarter came to an end.
The Bulldogs kept their strong offensive play going in the fourth finding the back of the net four times, but the Mountaineers got two of their own as Redlands' comeback attempt fell short.
During the four-game tournament the Bulldogs received six goals from DeCourcy and Madigan. Madigan added three-sprints won. Defensively Barker had four steals and 14 saves. Gattorna made 11 saves as well.
Redlands returns home to host the Inland Empire Classic next weekend, Friday-Saturday, September 5-6. They open action against Fresno Pacific on Friday at 12:20pm and then Iona University at 6:40pm. Then on Saturday they take on No. 9 University of Pacific at 9:00am and then No. 7 UC Irvine at 5:00pm.
