ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University men's water polo team, previously tied with University of Redlands at No. 2 by DIII Men's Water Polo, upset the Bulldogs with a 10-6 victory at Allred Pool on Wednesday. This was the Panthers eighth win a row and second victory over Redlands this season.
Freshman 2MD Jeff O'Brien scored the game-winning goal off of an assist from junior UTL Willis Allen at the beginning of the third quarter to put the Panthers ahead 7-6. O'Brien added a pair of goals to his night in the fourth quarter to extend the Panthers' lead over the Bulldogs to 10-6.
The Bulldogs jumped out ahead of the Panthers 3-1 early in the first quarter, scoring two back-to-back goals on junior GK Stephen Neil. Neil allowed just six goals on 20 shots throughout the match and now leads the team with 141 blocks on the season.
Senior DR Mark Alvarado, sparked a Panther comeback in the first quarter, scoring his second goal of the match to tie the game at three with 3:22 left. Chapman then followed with three more goals to take the lead 6-5 at the end of the first half.
Chapman held its lead throughout the second half allowing just three goals in the two quarters. The Panther defense was led by senior DR Chase Middlesworth who had three steals and allowed no turnovers.
The Panthers are now 11-7 overall and 2-0 SCIAC while the Bulldogs have fallen to 4-17 overall and 0-2 in SCAIC. Chapman, now 3-0 at home, will host Pomona-Pitzer (5-12 overall, 1-0 SCIAC) at 11 a.m. at Allred Pool on Saturday Oct. 25.
by Raquel Rinauro
Sports Information Assistant
Boxscore: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/mwaterpolo/2014-15/files/CU-Redlands.pdf
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