Men's water polo downs Redlands for first win of 2021

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University men's water polo team picked up its first win of the season with a 12-10 victory over Redlands in a SCIAC match on Wednesday. For the Panthers, the third time was the charm after playing in a tightly contested match for the third time in a row.

Last week, the Panther suffered narrow road losses to Cal Lutheran and Whittier. On Wednesday, they finally came out on top with a 12-10 win and pulled away in the final minutes to secure the victory.

When Redlands' Tor Cole tied the match at 9-9 with 5:23 left, the Panthers responded with three consecutive goals to put the match out of reach. Freshman Nate Randolph scored just 20 seconds later to put Chapman on top for good. Another 6-on-5 goal from senior Andy Anguiano was followed shortly after by a goal from junior Andy Colmignoli to put Chapman up 12-9 with just under two minutes left.

Senior goalkeeper Owen McNicholas made 15 saves in the cage to keep Chapman in control for most of the match. He also added an assist on the first goal of the match and came away with a steal.

As a team, the Panthers converted four of their five 6-on-5 opportunities. Defensively, the Panthers held Redlands to just two goals on 11 of those opportunities, including a 6-on-4 opportunity.

The Panthers sprinted out to a 2-0 lead in the first four minutes but saw it disappear after back-to-back Redlands goals later in the first. Freshman Everett Prussak and sophomore Spencer Snow put Chapman back on top 4-2 at the end of the first. Snow went on to lead the Panthers with three goals on the night.

Redlands took control in the second quarter and took a 6-5 lead after Spencer Clinton scored just after the shot clock expired. Clinton tallied five goals for the Bulldogs. Chapman battled back in the third and took an 8-7 lead on freshman Noah Baird's goal and never trailed again.

The Panthers take a break from the SCIAC action this weekend when they head to Claremont and La Verne for the Gary Troyer Invitational.

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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