Bulldog Men's Water Polo Dominates Occidental in High-Scoring Game

Photo credit: Beth Doolittle
Photo credit: Beth Doolittle

The University of Redlands men's water polo team traveled to Occidental College to face the Tigers in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) match on Saturday morning. Although the Tigers equalized the score at 1-1, Redlands pulled away to score the next six goals and never looked back en route to a dominating, 20-12 victory.

Senior utility player Max Taylor (Las Vegas, NV) registered the Maroon and Gray's first goal of the game off of a nice, full-pool assist from freshman goalkeeper Chris Martinez (Santa Ana, CA). After freshman attack player Aaron White (San Jose, CA) and Taylor netted two more Bulldog goals, junior attack player Grant Curry (San Diego, CA) extended the visiting team's advantage by scoring the next four-consecutive goals.

Sophomore attack player Carter Kerwin (Bakersfield, CA) and freshman utility player Jasen Swan (Glendora, CA) got in on the scoring action with one goal apiece before White fired home a thrilling goal just one second before the buzzer sounded for halftime. Although the Tigers put two through the posts through the first and second stanza, the Bulldogs held a sizable, 11-3 lead at the midway point of the game.

Although Occidental showed more offense in the third and fourth quarters, the Bulldogs matched the home team score-for-score to maintain their advantage. Sophomore attack player Austin Kent (Redlands, CA) made his mark in the fourth quarter by scoring two in just three minutes.

Curry ended the day with six goals, while White and Taylor added three apiece. Martinez and sophomore goalkeeper Braeden Shaw (Yorba Linda, CA) split time between the posts for four saves each, while Martinez led the team with three assists.

The Maroon and Gray (9-12, 4-2 SCIAC) strives to stay in the win column when it hosts the University of La Verne in a conference match on Thursday, October 19, at Thompson Aquatic Center.