The University of Redlands men's water polo team hit the road for a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) match at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Wednesday evening. Amidst a back-and-forth battle, the Bulldogs suffered a cold scoring spell in the third period, which provided the difference in the 7-9 loss.
After the Sagehens jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, the Maroon and Gray responded with consecutive goals to end the first and begin the second quarter. Junior attacker Spencer Allen (Seal Beach, CA) and senior attacker Grant Curry (San Diego, CA) each took advantage of a power-play to even the tally at two apiece.
Although Pomona-Pitzer scored on its subsequent possession, Redlands immediately knotted things up with a goal off sophomore utility player Jasen Swan's (Glendora, CA) hand.
As neither team found the back of the net for the next four minutes, defensive prowess prevailed on both ends of the pool. For the Maroon and Gray, sophomore goalkeeper Chris Martinez (Santa Ana, CA) stepped up his game as the last line of defense en route to making 12 saves on the night.
With 57 seconds left in the second quarter, Redlands gained its first lead of the game at 4-3 when senior center Billy Clifford (Redlands, CA) unleashed a goal.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs' advantage was short-lived, as the Sagehens closed out the period with a final score to tie things up once again.
During the third quarter, Pomona-Pitzer maintained a good offensive rhythm, while Redlands struggled to convert. The Sagehens scored three consecutive goals by the 2:19-mark before junior attacker Carter Kerwin (Bakersfield, CA) ended the Bulldogs' drought by firing one past the goalkeeper with 37 seconds left in the stanza.
Now trailing by two, the Maroon and Gray matched the home team goal-for-goal through the final whistle but it was not enough. Junior center Cooper Krause (Denver, CO) and Allen each registered a late score for the Bulldogs.
Redlands (9-11, 3-2 SCIAC) hosts Whittier College on Saturday, October 13, for an 11 a.m. conference match at the Thompson Aquatic Center.