Emotions ran high as the University of Redlands men's water polo team hosted the Chapman University Panthers in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) battle. It was a tight contest from start to finish, highlighted by 10 ties throughout the game. With senior center Clint Freeman (Brentwood, CA) leading the attack, the Bulldogs pulled away at the end of the fourth quarter for a 15-13 victory.
Freeman initiated the offense for the Bulldogs, scoring a pair of netters early in the first stanza. The Panthers responded to even the count at two apiece before the teams continued to trade punches. However, senior center-defender David Sekula (LaGrange, IL) and Freeman finished out the exciting period with one score each for a Bulldog advantage of 4-3.
After a goal by the Panthers, senior center Grant Harrington (Poway, CA) netted a score to give the Maroon and Gray a 5-4 lead. Again, the squads went back-and-forth, with Redlands' freshman center-defense Danny Hartwig (Poway, CA) notching a netter to put the Bulldogs back in front at the end of the second stanza.
In addition, the defense stepped up for the Bulldogs by constantly applying pressure to the Chapman offense. Senior goalkeeper Tyler Abbott (Alta Loma, CA) patrolled the cage as the team's last line of defense with two great saves to propel Redlands in the first half.
At the start of the third frame, Chapman took its first lead of the game at 7-6, but the Bulldogs were unfazed. After a physical offensive possession, senior driver Quinn Curl (San Mateo, CA) converted a penalty shot to tie it up.
With the teams continuing to trade goals, the Panthers held a slight advantage at 10-9 to start the fourth frame.
However, Freeman continued to impress by uncorking his fifth of six netters on the day. Moments later, Harrington gave the lead back to the Bulldogs at 11-10.
Although Chapman answered once more, Redlands looked to sophomore driver John Koning (Poway, CA), Hartwig, and senior center-defender Christian Ogawa (San Diego, CA) to fire off consecutive goals for the Maroon and Gray, leading to the tight victory.
Freshman goalkeeper Chris Sekula (LaGrange, CA) also contributed to the team's success with three saves during the second half.
Redlands (13-11, 2-1 SCIAC) returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges for a 7 p.m. SCIAC contest.
