Coming off its best weekend of the season so far, Bradley-Bourbonnais has its sights set on finishing the season as strong as it did two years ago, when the program reached the sectional finals for the first time.

A major step toward achieving that goal is getting the team’s reserves fully ramped up for the final stretch of conference play and the postseason, which is now just over a month away.

Head coach Keith Martin sent the reserves into the pool to start Thursday’s home game with Bremen, and while they managed to keep the Boilermakers within striking distance until the usual starters hit the water to start the second quarter, the Braves managed to build a lead that proved a bit too much to overcome.

The Boilermakers (4-5-1) ended up falling 7-5, cutting a 5-1 halftime deficit to 6-5 by the end of the third before a late Bremen goal sealed things.

Martin said he was happy with what he saw out of his bench unit, and hopes the experience they gained Thursday will pay off down the road.

“I wouldn’t change the starting lineup if I had to do it again,” he said. “The only thing I would’ve changed is I would’ve put the bench back in to finish the game they started, because overall the effort today was to make them better. I kind of sacrificed that initial plan to try and claw back for the win.”

The Boilermakers, who went 3-0-1 at the Maine East Invite over the weekend and closed the invite with three straight wins, were down 2-0 after one quarter of play Thursday.

Bremen added a pair of goals in the opening minutes of the second quarter while the Boilermaker starters started to make headway, with Karson Reynolds getting the hosts on the board with a penalty shot midway through the period.

The Braves added a goal with 11 seconds to go in the opening half to make it 5-1 at the break, and once the third quarter started, the Boilermakers really started to chip away at the deficit.

Pierce Cailteux made it a 5-2 game with his goal just 25 seconds into the third, and after Bremen’s Justin Chimino responded with his fourth goal of the game, the Boilermakers got goals from Eli Swafford, Charlie Quigley and another from Reynolds to make it 6-5 entering the fourth.

The Boilermakers nearly tied things up with four minutes to play in the fourth, but were turned away by Bremen goalkeeper Juan Reyes. A little over two minutes later, Evan Dieters scored a dagger for the Braves to make it 7-5 with a 1:25 to go.

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Boys Water Polo: Bradley-Bourbonnais vs. Bremen Bradley-Bourbonnais' Eli Swafford sends a shot on goal during the Boilermakers' 7-5 loss to Bremen on Thursday, April 2, 2026. (Tiffany Blanchette)

Despite the loss, Martin said he has continued to see the team improve each minute they’re in the pool, whether its in games or practice.

“We’ve always been a team where our skill increases exponentially throughout the season,” he said. “A lot of teams have guys that play year-round, and during the season they plateau skill wise. We don’t have a program to send kids to play year round, so we do all our work for four hours a day for the three months of the season.”

Helping lead the Boilermakers over this final month of the regular season is a group of upperclassmen led by players like the senior Quigley and juniors Swafford and Reynolds.

“Charlie Quigley is without a doubt one of the best defenders I’ve ever met,” Martin said. “You cannot compete with this individual. He will slide under you and take the ball out from the opposite before you even know what’s happened. When you realize it, now he’s attacking your goal.

“...Eli Swafford’s speed is impeccable, and Karson Reynolds is an up-and-coming shooter.”

Martin said seniors like Kyle Gould, Davin Fitzpatrick and Eduardo Olguin have emerged as leaders while experienced swimmers but newer water polo players like Tylen Coyle have been adjusting well.

Martin said that if things keep trending like they have been, the Boilermakers can make some noise come postseason.

“The season is looking up,” he said. “The other teams my be looking at the scores and thinking that if they get us in the playoffs, it’s in the bag. That’s good. I appreciate those thoughts and motivation, but we don’t need it.”