REDLANDS, Calif, - The University of Redlands Bulldogs men's water polo concluded their matches for the Inland Empire Classic with a win against Riverside City College after losses to Long Beach State (LBSU) and a competitive loss to Ottawa from Arizona (OUAZ).
Game 1 (Long Beach State - L, 15-3)
The Bulldogs opened their final day of competition with a tough matchup with Division I Long Beach State. It took nearly 14 minutes, but the Bulldogs got on the board thanks to Max Wagener (Piedmont, Calif.). Despite only scoring once in the first half, the Bulldogs only allowed two goals in the second quarter.
1:06 into the third quarter Ron Gvishi (Albany, Calif.) assisted Drake Moody (Camarillo, Calif.). Jack Ryan (Ventura, Calif.) ended the Bulldogs scoring drought with 4:16 left in the fourth, it also ended a 6-0 scoring run for Long Beach State.
The Bulldogs fell 15-3, but goalkeeper Liam Murphy (Placentia, Calif.) did keep the game from getting too out of hand by making 11 saves.
Game 2 (Ottawa University, L, 11-10)
By far the Bulldogs most competitive match of the day came in their second match with them losing despite multiple game-tying shots that missed the target in the final seconds.
Moody opened the scoring in the first with 3:26 remaining and the Bulldogs down early 2-1. Tor Cole (Malibu, Calif.) them evened the score at two with 1:12 left in the first.
Moody got his second on the day 42 seconds into the second and gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the match. Wagener then made it 4-2 Bulldogs off an Andrew Sorensen (FY, Long Beach, Calif.) assist at the 6:34 mark.
Over the next 1:40 the Spirit retook the lead 6-4 thanks to a quick 4-0 run. The Bulldogs though, did not wait long to get back on the board, with Cole scoring 25 seconds later to make it a one-goal match. The Cole goal did not take momentum back for the Bulldogs as the Spirit ended the quarter with the final two goals and took an 8-5 lead to the fourth.
Cole scored a penalty at the 6:04 mark of the fourth. Spencer Clinton (Cypress, Calif.) then got the Bulldogs within one with 5:20 left after Moody fed him the pass. Moody and Wagener got back-to-back goals to tie the game at nine with 2:16 remaining.
The Bulldogs took their first lead of the second half thanks to Moody with 1:40 left. With 35 seconds left and the match tied at 10, the Spirit scored the game-winning goal. The Bulldogs did get two great looks in the final seconds but were unable to convert and fell 11-10.
Game 3 (Riverside City College - W, 13-8)
The final match of the day started slowly for the Bulldogs with them down 3-1 after the first. A 5-1 second quarter lead by a pair of Moody goals and one from Kian Jang (Carmichael, Calif.) made it 6-4 Bulldogs at half.
Dan Bajda (Lombard, Ill.) scored off a Cole assist 1:07 into the second. Overall, the third was like the first with the Bulldogs losing the quarter, but maintained their halftime lead, 8-7, headed to the fourth.
Up one with 2:27 left, the Bulldogs scored the final four goals, two coming from Tanner Whitson (St. Louis, Mo.) and won with a comfortable score line of 13-8.
The Bulldogs return to the water this Thursday, September 16 at 4:00 p.m. when they open Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play at Cal Lutheran.