RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Whittier College men's water polo team is still seeking their first SCIAC win of the season and was unable to come back from an early deficit against the Bulldogs of the University of Redlands who claimed a 12-10 victory.
Whittier is now 7-17 overall and 0-5 in SCIAC, while Redlands moves to 13-14 and 4-1 in SCIAC play.
Redlands jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first quarter but the Poets came back thanks to senior Keary Schlactus who tallied two goals midway through the quarter to cut the lead to one. Junior Cameron Rehm then found the back of the goal in the final minute of the quarter to tie up the game at 3-3.
In the second quarter Redlands continued to pour on the goals as they totaled seven but Whittier continued to be aggressive and wouldn't go away as Schlactus put in his third goal of the game, while senior Chet Schuster added two goals of his own to get the Poets within four heading into the half.
Coming out of the break, Whittier stepped up their defense and began playing more physical only holding Redlands to two goals in the second half. Schlactus added a fourth goal of the contest as he got the Poets within three heading into the final frame and despite goals from Rehm, Wes Paulson, and Erick Gonzalez, the Poets were unable to make up the two point margin allowing the Bulldogs to come away with the 12-10 win.
Whittier returns to the pool as they travel to take on the Beavers of the California Institute of Technology on Wednesday, November 2 beginning at 4pm.
