Men's water polo caps season with narrow loss in third place match

ORANGE, Calif. – For the second consecutive year, Chapman and Redlands met in the third place match of the SCIAC Tournament and the match was decided by a single goal. On Sunday, Redlands came out on top as the Chapman University men's water polo team fell 10-9 to conclude its season.

Last season, Chapman emerged victorious but couldn't overcome an early deficit in this year's matchup. Redlands went up 2-0 to start the match and led 2-1 after the first quarter. The Panthers (15-12, 7-4 SCIAC) fought back to tie the game on five separate occasions but could never get over the hump to take a lead.

Sophomore Jeff O'Brien's lone goal of the match knotted the score at 2-2 in the second quarter and the Bulldogs and Panthers continued to trade goals. The teams were deadlocked at 4-4 at the half after sophomore Jack Hillman scored with just over one minute left.

The teams continued to go back and forth in the third quarter but Nelson Glendinning scored the final goal of the quarter to put Redlands up 7-6. The goal sparked a 3-0 run that gave Redlands a 9-6 advantage in the fourth.

Chapman responded to pull within one but Redlands was able to hold off the Panthers late run to secure third place in the SCIAC Tournament. Senior Willis Allen scored two goals – the last of which brought Chapman within one at 10-9 with 2:16 left.

Senior Stephen Neil finished the season with a school record of 290 blocks.

Chapman finished the 2015 season with a winning record for the second year in a row and third time in the last four years. The Panthers advanced to the SCIAC semifinals for the second year in a row.

by Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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