The University of Redlands men's water polo team welcomed the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen to the Thompson Aquatic Center on Tuesday evening for a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) tilt. Through a physical four periods, the Bulldogs, unfortunately, could not find their offensive rhythm, dropping the match 11-15.
At the 3:06-minute mark in the first, the Kingsmen scored their second goal, putting the Bulldogs in a 0-2 hole. However, just 15 seconds later senior attacker Spencer Allen (Long Beach, CA) cut the deficit in half with a quick goal off a pass from senior attacker Carter Kerwin (Bakersfield, CA). Even though Allen scored once more in the period, Cal Lutheran held a slight 4-2 lead headed to the second quarter.
Senior attacker Kyle Jackson (Naperville, IL) knocked down a penalty shot at 6:41 in the ensuing period to pull within one at 3-4.
After a Cal Lutheran score, the Kingsmen offense was stymied by two blocked shots by junior attacker Chris Frejlach (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) and senior center defender Carl Matthews (Yorba Linda, CA) over the next three minutes.
At the 2:44-minute mark Matthews found Allen for a goal to pull within one yet again at 4-5.
The teams traded scores, as sophomore attacker Tor Cole (Malibu, CA) found first-year center Michael Driscoll (Escondido, CA) for a nice spin move goal.
But the Kingsmen offense got hot late in the second and third periods, putting the Bulldogs in a 7-12 hole to enter the fourth.
Although Cal Lutheran won the fourth-period sprint, Jackson swiped a nice steal to quickly put the Bulldogs back on offense. After junior attacker Jasen Swan (Glendora, CA) drew an exclusion, Kerwin found Allen for a powerplay goal for an 8-12 score just a minute into the final quarter.
Allen and Jackson combined efforts in the fourth, scoring three more goals but it was not enough to overpower the Kingsmen, ending the evening with a tough 11-15 loss.
Allen ended the night with an impressive, team-leading six goals.
Redlands (11-13, 4-6 SCIAC) look to flip the script when they head to Occidental College on Wednesday, November 6, for a 7 p.m. game.
