The University of Redlands men's water polo team survived an epic final game in the USA Water Polo Collegiate Division III National Championship to defeat Chapman University, 14-13, and claim the program's second national title.

Box Score

The Panthers jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the first quarter before Roberto Barrera keyed a late fastbreak goal with a save and assist to Dean Moody to halve the deficit. SCIAC Offensive Athlete of the Year Max Wagener tied the game in the second quarter with a penalty score and Redlands took the lead at 4:09 on a tally by Tanner Whitson. Chapman responded quickly, however, to retain the 8-7 lead at halftime.

Redlands seemed to take control of the match with a 5-1 third quarter but the Panthers refused to back down and pulled within one goal at 13-12 before Nicolas Fedotov struck on an asisst from Callum Norman with 1:03 remaining in the game. An extraman tally from Christian Gotterup cut the deficit back to one with time for Chapman to earn another possession and after Redlands burned its 30-second clock, the Panthers got that chance with 17 seconds on the clock. A final timeout playcall led to a close shot that Barrera deflected out, but Chapman could not get control as the ball was put into play and time expired. 

Fedotov carried the hosts' offense with five goals and two assists while Moody added two goals and three assists. Barrera made eight saves in net for the Bulldogs. 

Gotterup's four goals led Chapman, which also saw Everett Prussak and Nate Randolph notch hat-tricks. Jackson Sanders made 11 saves.

 

---

Follow the SCIAC on Threads (@theSCIAC), X - formerly Twitter (@theSCIAC) and Instagram (@thesciac) with hashtags #SCIACtion and #SoCalSoGood. Watch all home SCIAC games, matches, and meets online through FloSports: https://flosports.link/SCIAC