The University of Redlands women's lacrosse team returned to Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action on Saturday night by traveling to Chapman University for an exciting showdown with the Panthers. During a game that included seven ties and multiple lead-changes, the Bulldogs came out on the losing end of a tough 13-14 overtime battle.
Redlands notched the first score of the game just 60 seconds into the action, as freshman midfielder Lacey Bjorndal (Sherwood, OR) fired one past the Panther goalkeeper off of an assist from sophomore attack Dulce Moll (Mercer Island, WA).
After Chapman quickly answered with a goal of its own, the Bulldogs built up their largest lead of the game at 4-1, with junior midfielder Stephanie Garrett (San Diego, CA) and Moll joining forces for the Maroon and Gray's three-consecutive scores.
But the Panthers eventually knotted the score at five apiece, which led to a back-and-forth struggle through the end of the opening frame. Redlands entered halftime with a slight 8-7 edge.
The teams continued to trade netters throughout the first 12 minutes of the second half, until the Maroon and Gray fired off back-to-back scores for another small advantage at 11-9. The Garrett-Moll combination proved effective on the first goal, while sophomore midfielder Breanne Rideout (San Diego, CA) successfully converted a free-position shot for the second score.
But Chapman continued to respond to everything Redlands had to offer, as the Panthers rallied to tie it up at 11 apiece.
At the 5:50-mark, Moll dished out her fourth assist of the game, finding junior defender Sam Keary (Mission Viejo, CA) for the critical, tie-breaking score.
Minutes later, senior defender Robin Taylor's (Poway, CA) late goal appeared to be sufficient for the Bulldogs to grab a hard-fought victory. However, Chapman came up with a pair of goals in the final 33 seconds to force the game into overtime.
Unfortunately for Redlands, the Panthers notched the only netter of the extra period, providing the difference in the ever-so-close match-up.
In addition to her four assists, Moll led the Bulldogs with five goals, while Bjorndal and Garrett each scored twice.
Redlands won the draw-control battle by a slight 16-15 margin, with Garrett grabbing seven, Bjorndal adding four, and Keary snagging three.
The Bulldogs went a perfect 13-for-13 on clears, with sophomore goalkeeper Gigja Hollyday (Aliso Viejo, CA) and freshman goalkeeper Quinn Egan (Greenwood Village, CO) orchestrating them from the cage.
Redlands (7-5, 3-3 SCIAC) strives to rebound on Wednesday, April 8, when it hosts Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in a SCIAC match on Farquhar Field at 7 p.m.