The University of Redlands women's lacrosse team battled it out against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in the first-ever Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conferenc (SCIAC) Tournament Championship but fell to the Athenas by a score of 11-16 in a hard-fought match on Sunday in Whittier.
The Bulldogs finish second in the final SCIAC standings with a 6-4 record, sitting behind undefeated CMS.
This was the closest game of the season between these two teams.
In today's match, Redlands faced an early three-goal deficit and then saw the Athenas garner a 7-1 lead with 9:28 remaining in the first half.
However, the Bulldogs rallied for a 4-1 run through the first 25 seconds of the second period to move within two at 5-7. Senior attack player Mary Shepherd (Dallas, TX) initiated this outburst, with senior midfielder Haley Kern (Portland, OR) providing three of her five goals of the day.
Unfortunately, the Athenas regained control of the game, extending their advantage to six goals at 14-8 with 10:53 left on the clock. For the Bulldogs, sophomore attack player Megan Pricket (Poway, CA), Kern, and freshman midfielder Katie Colasurdo (Eugene, OR) each recorded scores during this span.
Redlands continued to compete through the final whistle, notching three more goals while giving up two in the last 10 minutes, which resulted in the final tally of 11-16. Senior attack player Diana Frey (Silver Spring, MD), Kern and junior midfielder Christy Smith (St. Louis Park, MN) each found the back of the net to close out the game.
CMS won the battle of draw controls by an 18-11 margin and took 11 more shots than the Bulldogs.
Freshman defender Jennifer Bryant (Kennebunkport, ME) led the Maroon and Gray with three draw controls, while Colasurdo and freshman midfielder Crystal Painter (Lake George, NY) corraled three ground balls apiece.
Sophomore goalkeeper Ana Martinez (Pleasanton, CA) took the loss between the pipes, making five saves in a complete game of duty.
Redlands (11-7, 6-4 SCIAC) looks forward to its final home game of the regular season when it hosts Adrian College (MI) on Tuesday, May 4, in a 7 p.m. showdown on Farquhar Field.