The top-seeded University of Redlands women's lacrosse team came out firing against No. 4 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in Saturday's semifinal game of the 2013 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship Tournament and prevailed by an impressive score of 17-7 to earn a spot in the final on May 4. Amid two very different halves, the Bulldogs garnered a 13-6 halftime advantage before controlling the pace of play and maintaining possession in a defensive-heavy second stanza.
The Maroon and Gray jumped out to a 3-0 lead less than seven minutes into the action. After two big defensive stops by graduate student goalkeeper Ana Martinez (Pleasanton, CA), Redlands looked to senior attack player Aimee Dewan (Alamo, CA) to initiate the scoring when she connected on a pass from junior attack player Allie Hoffler (Draper, UT).
After Pomona-Pitzer's Jana London ended the Sagehens' scoring drought, the Bulldogs gained back-to-back netters from junior midfielder KK McCaslin (Portland, OR) to make it 5-1 with 18:44 left in the first frame. Hoffler and senior midfielder Crystal Painter (Lake George, NY) provided assists on these goals.
London kept the Sagehens in the game by converting a free-position shot for her second of four goals on the night.
But less than 30 seconds later, junior midfielder Jacky Craycraft (Trabuco Canyon, CA) took a pass from Hoffler for another Bulldog netter.
While riding the momentum, Redlands seemed to score at will, as McCaslin dished a pass to Dewan to make it 7-2 just 24 seconds later.
Nonetheless, Pomona-Pitzer uncorked back-to-back scores for the first time during the contest, cutting the Maroon and Gray's lead to three.
The teams traded goals over the next five minutes, before Redlands unleashed a five-goal scoring spree to blow open its advantage. During this stretch, freshman midfielder Stephanie Garrett (San Diego, CA) provided two goals and an assist for the Bulldogs.
Although Pomona-Pitzer's London mustered a buzzer-beater goal to end the half, Redlands sat comfortably out in front with a 13-6 lead.
The second half saw a totally different style of play, with both teams tightening up their defenses and the Bulldogs deliberately possessing the ball.
Neither squad found the back of the net through the first 14 minutes of the second frame, with Redlands' Martinez providing a brick wall on three Pomona-Pitzer shots.
Although London finally broke through at the 15:04-mark, the Bulldogs shut down any chance of a comeback by denying any other scoring attempts through the final whistle.
Redlands finished the game on a 4-0 run, with junior midfielder Claire Krueger (Seattle, WA) netting two scores, and Garrett and Hoffler each recording one.
In addition to Martinez's 10 saves on the night, the Bulldogs gained two important caused turnovers and four ground balls from sophomore midfielder Robin Taylor (Poway, CA).
The Maroon and Gray (14-4, 10-1 SCIAC) now advances to the final of the SCIAC Championship Tournament and faces newcomer Chapman University, which upset No. 2-seeded Occidental College earlier today. Redlands and Chapman square off on Sat., May 4, at 7 p.m. on Farquhar Field.
