CLAREMONT, Calif. – The University of Redlands men's water polo team traveled to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Saturday night for their final road game within Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play.
Despite piecing together three strong quarters, it wasn't enough for UR to pull off the upset as a 7-2 run by the Stags in the 2nd frame proved the difference in the 14-8 win.
It was a tight match in the first quarter with just four goals being scored. The Bulldogs got on the board with a powerplay equalizer from senior Bradley Clinton (Cypress, CA) at the 3:56 mark. Drake Moody (Camarillo, CA) then got involved :37 seconds later connecting to put Redlands on top 2-1.
The Stags opened up the 2nd Quarter with a trifecta as they took a 5-2 advantage. Austin Galanski (Bakersfield, CA) stopped the 4-0 CMS run with a 6-on-5 tally that made it 5-3 with 3:51 left in the half. He then came back and would add his second in a row getting setup by first-year Ron Gvishi (Albany, CA) moving the score to 9-4 at the break.
First-year Andrew Sorensen (Long Beach, CA) got the offense going in the second half for the Bulldogs finding fellow first-year Spencer Clinton (Cypress, CA) inside set with 2:33 to play. S. Clinton then tacked on another towards the end of the third quarter off a powerplay opportunity that brought the Bulldogs within four, at 10-6.
In the fourth senior Tor Cole (Malibu, CA) got on the scoresheet at the 7:04 mark trying to jumpstart a comeback. But the only other strike would come from Moody with under 2:00 minutes to play that made it a six goal game.
The Bulldogs were able to take advantage of their powerplay opportunities, going 5-of-8 and finished with 30 shots, while shooting .267. Liam Murphy (Placentia, CA) returned to the cage and had eight saves while playing all 32:00 minutes. S. Clinton, Galanski, and Moody all had a pair of goals and Gvishi added two assists.
Redlands returns home to the Thompson Aquatic Center for their final regular season game of 2021 next Saturday, November 13 at 11:00am when they host Occidental College at 11:00am on Senior Day.