THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Cal Lutheran men's water polo (8-8, 1-3 SCIAC) battled until the final buzzer in a thrilling matchup against Redlands (5-14, 4-0 SCIAC) on Wednesday evening, ultimately coming up just short in a 10-9 defeat.

Cal Lutheran and Redlands battled evenly through an action-packed first quarter. Alan Castillo opened the scoring for the Kingsmen at the 6:01 mark, assisted by Merrick Giles. The Bulldogs responded with back-to-back goals — a power-play conversion and an even-strength strike — to take a 2-1 lead. Cal Lutheran answered before the break, as Levi Cook's shot slipped past the keeper and rolled into the net off a pass from Tre Eade, knotting the score at 2-2 heading into the second period.

The second quarter opened with Redlands capitalizing on a power play to regain the lead. Cal Lutheran's goalkeeper Jaeger Gonzales came up big moments later, blocking a strong shot to keep the game within reach. Cal Lutheran quickly responded as Castillo scored his second of the game off another setup from Giles to tie it at three. Despite the momentum swing, Redlands strung together a strong offensive stretch, netting two back-to-back goals to take a 5-3 advantage. The Kingsmen showed resilience late in the period, with Cook striking a goal to trim the deficit to one. Redlands followed with a goal in the last minute, sending Cal Lutheran into the break trailing 6-4.

Cal Lutheran came out strong in the third period, capitalizing on early opportunities to erase the deficit. Cook continued his standout performance, converting a power play off another feed from Giles to make it 6-5. Moments later, Paul Patterson buried a shot to tie the game at six apiece. Redlands briefly regained the lead with a man-advantage goal, but the Kingsmen responded once more, as Ethan Guereca found the back of the net on a power play assisted by Dylan Villanueva, sending the game into the final period tied at 7-7.

The fourth quarter delivered a dramatic finish as both sides battled for control in the closing minutes. Redlands struck early on a power play, but Cal Lutheran's Jack Bradbury answered quickly, burying a pass from Patterson to tie the game at 8-8. The Kingsmen missed a chance to take the lead when Castillo's five-meter penalty shot was blocked, and Redlands took advantage, converting back-to-back power plays to pull ahead 10-8. Patterson kept CLU in it with a power-play goal assisted by Cook, cutting the deficit to one. On the defensive end, Giles made a huge impact with two key steals, giving Cal Lutheran extra possessions in the final minute. Despite a late timeout and final shot attempts from Castillo and Giles, both were denied, and the Kingsmen fell just short in a 10-9 heartbreaker.

The Kingsmen will look to redeem themselves at home on Saturday against La Verne.