REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands men's water polo team made their 2026 Thompson Aquatic Center (TAC) debut Friday during the Inland Empire Classic (IEC) falling to No. 13 University of California, Irvine (UCI), 16-6, before taking down Concordia University Irvine (CUI), 14-13, thanks to a big third quarter.
Game 1 (UC Irvine; L, 16-6)
The Anteaters scored the opening three goals before Nick Davidson (Honolulu, HI) converted on a powerplay at the 4:50 mark of the first quarter.
Trailing 7-1 late in the second quarter, the Bulldogs' Jake Simpson (El Cajon, CA) found Adam Lambert (St. Louis, MO) with 2:35 remaining as the Bulldogs went into the break down five, 7-2.
In the second half Simpson got his second assist when he found Oliver Finley (Cape Town, South Africa) for Redlands' lone goal in the third. Over the final 4:51 of the fourth, the Bulldogs scored three more times with Mathieu Bordet (Marseille, France), Camilo Solis (Camarillo, CA), and Blake Minkler (Yucaipa, CA) all finding the back of the net with Simpson and Lennon Franklin (Redlands, CA) tallying assists.
Simpson was the most impactful field player with three assists and a steal. Solis added two drawn exclusions to his goal as did Lambert. In goal Matias Sheridan (Honolulu, HI) started and made six saves in the first half.
Game 2 (Concordia University Irvine; W, 14-13)
In the second game of the day, Redlands held a 3-2 lead after one quarter thanks to a goal from Finley and another two from Simpson.
CUI, though, would take a 5-3 lead after three unanswered in the second period. Michael Villagran (Glendora, CA) then found Simpson and Johnny Starr (Bakersfield, CA) finished to cut the deficit to one, 6-5, at the half.
The Bulldogs started to create separation in the third quarter when they scored six times going from down one to up two. The goals came from Zach Dortch (Alameda, CA), who had two, and Lambert, Finley, Simpson, and Starr who all tallied a goal for what was an 11-9 advantage for the U of R after 24 minutes.
The lead grew to as many as four, 14-10, with 3:19 remaining in the game after a pair of Davidson goals and one from Minkler off an assist from Matthew Wheeler (Visalia, CA).
The Golden Eagles, however, scored three times in less than two minutes and pulled within one, 14-13, with :48 seconds still on the clock. But after that the Bulldog offense would run out the clock on their final two possessions to secure the win.
Redlands ends the IEC with California Baptist University (CBU) at 8:00 a.m. and California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, September 5.
