The University of Redlands men's water polo team competed in the opening day of the Gary Troyer Memorial Tournament in Claremont on Friday, earning a pair of wins against non-conference foes. The Bulldogs rallied from an early deficit to surge past Johns Hopkins University (MD) in a tight 11-10 decision before cruising to a 21-8 win over La Salle University (PA).
In the opener, the Jays came out firing and quickly forced Redlands into a three-goal deficit at the end of the first quarter. Nonetheless, the Bulldogs battled back with eight goals over the next two periods, including three by senior utility player Max Taylor (Henderson, NV) and two by freshman attack player Aaron White (San Jose, CA).
Trailing by only one goal heading into the fourth frame, the Bulldogs stepped up their defensive efforts to close out the contest with a 2-0 run for the exciting victory. Junior center-defender Ilan Dayan (Sao Paulo, Brazil) scored his third goal of the game with 3:24 remaining to even the count at 10 apiece, while junior attack player Grant Curry (San Diego, CA) fired off the game-winner with 30 seconds left on the clock.
The duo of freshman Chris Martinez (Santa Ana, CA) and sophomore Braeden Shaw (Yorba Linda, CA) stepped up for a stellar showing by recording 14 saves and shutting out the opponents in the fourth.
In their second match of the day, Redlands stormed out to a 5-1 advantage in the first quarter and never looked back. The Bulldogs notched six goals in the third and seven in the fourth to run away with the solid win.
Taylor led the Maroon and Gray with four goals, while Curry, junior center Billy Clifford (Redlands, CA), sophomore attack player Austin Kent (Redlands, CA), and sophomore center Cooper Krause (Denver, CO) each recorded a multi-goal performance.
Martinez and Shaw shared time in the cage for four saves, collectively.
Redlands (7-12, 2-2 SCIAC) returns to Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action on Wednesday, October 11, with a 7 p.m. game against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges at the Thompson Aquatic Center.