The University of Redlands women's lacrosse team capped off a solid road-trip to Oregon with a 15-8 victory over George Fox University (OR) on Saturday morning. The Bulldogs erupted for 10 goals in the second half to propel them past the Bruins for a solid finish in the 15-8 victory.
After a back-and-forth first half that resulted in a slight 5-4 advantage, the Bulldogs raised their game in the final 30 minutes by firing off 10 goals, which came from nine different players in an impressive offensive display.
Senior midfielder Stephanie Garrett (San Diego, CA) got things started by snagging the opening draw and taking it straight to goal for Redlands' 6-4 lead.
Although GFU gained possession on the ensuing draw, the Bulldog defense forced the Bruins into a broken clear, which set up freshman attack player Hayley Donnelly's (Bellaire, TX) first goal of the game.
Freshman midfielder Hanna Morford (West Linn, OR) uncorked back-to-back scores over the next eight minutes, providing great momentum for the Bulldogs with their 9-4 advantage with 20 minutes to go.
A couple of key defensive plays by senior midfielder Sam Keary (Mission Viejo, CA) set up frshman attack player Kelsey Ruhl's (Seattle, WA) netter at the 19:36-mark, before Garrett forced a Bruin turnover, which led to sophomore midfielder Lacey Bjorndal's (Sherwood, OR) initial score of the game.
With Redlands leading by a score of 11-4, the teams traded goals throughout the remainder of the game, but the Bulldogs' win was never in question. Redlands found its play-making rhythm in two of these late goals, as junior midfielder Breanne Rideout (San Diego, CA) and Garrett offered assists on Keary and junior attack player Dulce Moll's (Mercer Island, WA) goals, respectively.
Overall, Garrett finished with four goals, three ground balls, three draw controls, and two caused turnovers for a solid stat line. Morford scored a hat trick, while Ruhl provided the only other multi-goal showing with her two scores.
Morford also played a solid role in the Bulldogs' 14-11 advantage on draw controls by snagging a game-high five of them.
Keary corralled six of the team's 24 ground balls.
Senior goalkeeper Izzy Baez (Zionsville, IN) and sophomore goalkeeper Quinn Egan (Greenwood Village, CO) split time in the cage, earning four and five saves in their respective halves.
Redlands (8-4, 2-3 SCIAC) returns home to Farquhar Field for a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown with the Chapman University Panthers on Saturday, April 2, at 7 p.m.
