REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Men's Water Polo team picked up their first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) victory on Wednesday night, rolling the University of La Verne, 20-14, inside the Thompson Aquatic Center.
The Maroon and Grey improve to 4-14, 1-3 SCIAC and have now won three of their last four.
"I am really happy with how the team played tonight, especially getting the win at home," Head Coach Ryan Hall explained. "Defensively we have to be better. It's great to score 20 goals and have a number of players contribute offensively, but if we continue to give teams opportunities to score it's going to be tough for us to get the results we want. Our focus now is preparing for a tough Claremont-M-S squad this Saturday, and in order to pick up that win we have to play better."
It was a high-scoring opening quarter with a combined 11 goals, as UR held the early edge, 7-4. They jumped in front 2-0 behind a pair of goals from Ron Gvishi (Albany, CA) and didn't look back, as Max Wagener (Piedmont, CA), Owen Nishimura (Carlsbad, CA), Spencer Clinton (Cypress, CA), and Bradley Clinton (Cypress, CA) gave Redlands the three-goal advantage. It was a low scoring 2nd quarter, but again UR earned the edge, this time at 4-3. Nishimura and Drake Moody (Camarillo, CA) started off quickly to extend the advantage to four. ULV was able to get back within two following back-to-back tallies, but that was as close as they would get, as Moody and S. Clinton closed out the half with two of their own for Redlands' 11-7 advantage heading into the break.
The Leopards and Bulldogs swapped goals the entire 3rd quarter, as the lead remained at four. UR gained five connections in the period from Tor Cole (Malibu, CA), Gvishi, Andrew Sorensen (Long Beach, CA), and Moody. Then, across the final eight minutes, the Bulldogs put the game out of reach by outscoring La Verne 4-2, with goals coming from Wagener, Tanner Whitson (St. Louis, MO), S. Clinton, and Cole.
Redlands finished with 32 shots, while going 3-for-9 on power plays and shooting .625 overall. Jason Gates (San Jose, CA) picked up another win between the posts, playing all 32:00 minutes and totaling eight saves and a steal. S. Clinton added four goals, while Moody and Gvishi each added three. Sorensen also had an impressive stat line with two goals and three assists, while Cole added two goals, an assist, and a steal.
Redlands remains at home this Saturday, October 9, when they host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 11:00am.