Thousand Oaks, CA - December 5 - The USA Water Polo Men's Division III Collegiate Championship wrapped up yesterday at Samuelson Aquatics Center with the University of Redlands Bulldogs capturing the National Championship. The Bulldogs defeated Johns Hopkins and Cal Lutheran on their way to the title.
The Championship final on Sunday afternoon was a tight contest throughout the first half. Cal Lutheran scored first in front of their home crowd from Justin Boals before Redlands answered with a goal from Alec Abrahmanian. The teams exchanged two quick goals again as Adam Dow scored on a man-up advantage for the Kingsmen before Abrahmanian beat the goalkeeper to tie the score for the Bulldogs. At the end of the first period, Johnny Wotawa (Cal Lutheran) and Spencer Clinton (Redlands) traded even strength goals to leave the score tied, 3-3, after one. In the second, Cal Lutheran scored twice behind Lincoln Hall and Luke Matthies before Redlands responded with two scores from Clinton and Eamon Greathouse to bring the halftime score to 5-5.
The third period is where the Bulldogs took control of this one. Greathouse (2), Drake Moody, and Andrew Higginson scored four for Redlands, who held Cal Lutheran without a goal. In the final frame, Higginson scored for Redlands to push the lead to five before Dillon Goldsmith put the Kingsmen's final goal on the board with 3:23 remaining. Thirty seconds later, the Bulldogs left no doubt on a power play goal from Moody and the University of Redlands won the National Championship over Cal Lutheran, 11-6.
Liam Murphy was named MVP after notching 18 saves in the final. The Bulldogs were aided by Eamon Greathouse, who scored three goals in the victory. A replay of the final can be seen by clicking
here.
Sunday morning brought the third place game between MIT and Johns Hopkins. The MIT Engineers played excellent defense as they claimed third place over Johns Hopkins, 9-6. Adam Ivatorov led the way with four goals and Evan Kowal scored three times against the Blue Jays. Johns Hopkins got five goals from Emerson Sullivan while goalkeeper Kyle Pearson recorded ten saves.
All-Tournament Team
MVP: Liam Murphy, Redlands
Andrew Higginson, Redlands
Drake Moody, Redlands
Dillon Goldsmith, Cal Lutheran
Ben Brown, Cal Lutheran
Colin Weaver, MIT
Jack King, MIT
Emerson Sullivan, Johns Hopkins
In the semifinal round on Saturday, Redlands bested Johns Hopkins, 18-6. Drake Moody led the way for the Bulldogs with six goals while Johns Hopkins' Cameron Burns accumulated two points (one goal, one assist) for the Blue Jays in the loss.
On the other side of the bracket, Cal Lutheran beat MIT, 17-7, to advance to the Championship match. Dillon Goldsmith scored five times while three others added three scores each for the Kingsmen. Adam Ivatorov, Luke Apostolides, and Miller Geschke each scored two goals for the Engineers in defeat.
