REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Men's Water Polo team will play for a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Tournament Title at No. 3 Cal Lutheran University (CLU) tomorrow, Sunday, November 20 at 2:00 p.m. at the Samuelson Aquatic Center following their 9-8 upset win over No. 1 Pomona-Pitzer Friday night.
Both teams have already qualified for the USA Men's Water Polo Collegiate Division III National Championship, set to take place on December 3-4. The winner of tomorrow's game will earn the SCIAC Tournament title along with clinching the right to host the national championships.
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Previous Meetings
The Bulldogs and Kingsmen have met twice this season, both games going to CLU. In the first meeting on the road back on October 5 the Kingsmen earned the 9-7 win (Box Score | Recap). Second team All-SCIAC member Alec Abrahamian (Glendale, CA) had a goal and an assist, Ron Gvishi (Kiryat Tivon, Israel) had two goals and two assists, Andrew Sorensen (Long Beach, CA) scored twice, and Spencer Clinton (Cypress, CA) added a goal and an assist. The hero during their SCIAC Postseason Tournament run, Liam Murphy (Placentia, CA), made 12 saves for a .571 save percentage.
In the rematch at the Thompson Aquatic Center in early November (Nov. 2), the Kingsmen again pulled out a two-goal win, 11-9 (Box Score | Recap). Clinton had a big day with four goals. Andrew Higginson (San Diego, CA) and Spencer Sellwood (Irvine, CA) added a goal and two assists apiece, and Callum Norman (Johannesburg, South Africa) scored a brace.
Cal Lutheran
The Kingsmen won their quarterfinal over No. 6 seed Chapman University 17-14 (Box Score). They then went on the road and beat No. 2 seed Occidental College 16-15 (Box Score) in sudden death overtime.
CLU had the conference leading scorer and first team All-SCIAC member, Dillon Goldsmith. Goldsmith is the SCIAC's leading scorer with 94 goals, 11 more than the second place scorer. He is also third in SCIAC with 120 points. Along with his offense, he recorded 14 field blocks, tied for the third most in conference, and posted 42 steals, which was the third most.
Goldsmith is not the lone threat though, he is joined by fellow first teamer, Ben Brown, who is fourth in the SCIAC with 80 goals, first in assists with 57, for a conference-leading 137 points, 16 more than second place. Just like Goldsmith, Brown is also an active defender, blocking 13 shots, fifth most, and he has 41 steals, fourth most.
In goal Bo DuBois is one of the most active goalkeepers in the conference, ranking 10th overall among all players with 32 steals. In the traditional goalkeeping stats, he is second in saves with 209, seventh in save percentage at .371, and seventh in goals-against average, allowing 13.36 goals per game.