The University of Redlands men's water polo team hosted the Occidental College Tigers on Wednesday night in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown at the Thompson Aquatic Center. After an early 2-2 tie, the Bulldogs broke it open with a highly-effective offense that produced four or more goals in each of the final three periods of the game for a 16-9 victory.
The teams traded scores early in the game, resulting in a 2-2 stalemate through the opening eight minutes.
The Bulldogs gained a 4-2 lead by the 5:48-mark of the second period off goals by junior attacker Carter Kerwin (Bakersfield, CA) and junior attacker Spencer Allen (Seal Beach, CA).
Although the Tigers pulled one back, Redlands immediately answered with three more goals for a 7-3 advantage. This scoring spurt began on a key steal by junior utility player Kyle Jackson (Naperville, IL), who quickly turned that opportunity into a goal off sophomore utility player Jasen Swan's (Glendora, CA) assist. After a couple of defensive stops, the Bulldogs put together another scoring possession, with Allen finding an open Kerwin with 41 seconds remaining in the frame. Sophomore goalkeeper Chris Martinez (Santa Ana, CA) made a solid save on the Tigers' ensuing shot to set up another Maroon and Gray goal. This time, senior utility player Mitchell Walker (Taylorsville, UT) dished out the assist for Allen on a sweet scoring play.
Although Oxy scored late in the period, Redlands entered the midway point of the game with a solid lead.
The home team continued to press offensively and scored nearly twice as many goals as the Tigers in the final 16 minutes. Allen cranked up his firepower by finding the back of the net on three more occasions while also providing another assist. In addition, senior attacker Grant Curry (San Diego, CA) and junior attacker Tyler Strabel (Canyon Lake, CA) tossed in two goals apiece, as Jackson provided two assists, in the second half alone.
Martinez finished with 11 saves and two steals before giving way to first-year goalkeeper Jason Gates (San Jose, CA) in the final 4:25.
Redlands (13-14, 7-5 SCIAC) looks forward to Senior Day on Saturday, November 3, when it hosts Chapman University in an 11 a.m. SCIAC match at the Thompson Aquatic Center.
