The University of Redlands men's water polo finished out the Kap7 NorCal Invitational with a pair of big wins, taking down Santa Clara University and Chapman University. After entering the tournament as the 15th-seed, the Bulldogs moved up to two slots with today's outstanding results.
Redlands used a four-goal third quarter to slide past the Broncos in its first match of the day by a score of 7-6. Trailing 2-3 after two periods, the Bulldogs tied it up less than two minutes into the third frame on junior driver Kyle Murata's (Brea, CA) second goal of the game.
After the teams traded scores, the Maroon and Gray took the lead at 5-4, thanks to a netter by senior center-defender Jake Funk (Fremont, CA) with 3:33 left in the stanza. About a minute later, senior center John Koning (Poway, CA) found the back of the net for Redlands' largest lead of the game at 6-4.
However, Santa Clara kept things interesting by squeezing in a goal with one tick left on the third-period clock.
Nonetheless, Redlands' defense stepped up to keep the Broncos off the board, while sophomore driver Kevin Chapa (Carlsbad, CA) uncorked the eventual game-winner with 5:02 to go.
Although Santa Clara scored once more, the Bulldogs remained in front for the 7-6 victory.
The Bulldogs used a well-balanced offense that also included junior center-defender Mark Zikov (La Quinta, CA) and junior driver Zac Polmanteer (Long Beach, CA).
In Redlands' final game of the tournament, the Bulldogs broke a four-all tie with a relentless offense that converted six-straight goals for the comfortable 13-7 triumph over the Chapman Panthers.
Tied at four early in the second period, Redlands simply went off for an impressive run through the end of the third stanza. Zikov played a huge role in this offensive outburst, as he tallied four of his five goals for the Bulldogs.
From here, Redlands just cruised through the fourth period, earning its second win of the season over Chapman.
Chapa and Koning each added two scores, while sophomore center Matt Shippen (Santa Maria, CA), junior driver Kevin Tunney (Palos Park, IL), freshman driver Aki Andersen (Laguna Beach, CA), and freshman driver Ty Williams (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) contributed one goal apiece.
No statistics were available for the Bulldog goalkeepers.
Redlands (4-8) looks forward to competing in the friendly confines of the Thompson Aquatic Center on Thursday, October, 1 at 7 p.m. when it squares off against George Washington University (DC).