The University of Redlands women's lacrosse team returned home to Farquhar Field for Saturday's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) match against the Chapman University Panthers. After trailing by four with a little over eight minutes to go, the Bulldogs fired off three-straight goals and gained possession in the final minute in an effort to force overtime. However, the comeback fell just shy, as the Maroon and Gray suffered a hard-fought 12-13 loss to the Panthers.
Redlands jumped out to a 4-1 lead with an energetic start to the contest. Junior attack player Dulce Moll (Mercer Island, WA) served as the playmaker by assisting on back-to-back goals to get things started for the Maroon and Gray. After freshman attack player Summer Stafford (Littleton, CO) found the back of the net, Redlands came right back to score again less than 30 seconds later. Senior midfielder Stephanie Garrett (San Diego, CA) initiated the possession with one of her seven draw controls, allowing freshman midfielder Hanna Morford (West Linn, OR) to go to goal for the score.
Following a Panther netter, Garrett and Moll each unleashed a goal to give Redlands a 4-1 advantage with 17 minutes left in the first half. Sophomore goalkeeper Quinn Egan (Greenwood Village, CO) provided a key stop during this stretch to keep the momentum with the Bulldogs.
Unfortunately for Redlands, Chapman responded with a 6-2 run to close out the half with a 7-6 lead. Garrett and Stafford accounted for Redlands' netters, which came in the final four minutes of the period.
Freshman attack player Hayley Donnelly (Bellaire, TX) came out firing to start the second stanza, as she evened the tally with an unassisted goal at the 28:50-mark.
However, Chapman answered with another scoring run, regaining the lead at 10-7.
The teams traded scores over the next 10 minutes, with Donnelly converting a goal off of a sophomore midfielder Lacey Bjorndal (Sherwood, OR) assist and Moll unleashing another netter.
After the Panthers earned a 13-9 advantage, the game appeared to be in their hands for the remaining eight minutes.
But the Bulldogs refused to go away, as they rallied for three late scores to put Chapman on the defensive. Bjorndal had her hand in all three, providing the assist to Garrett, before finding the back of the net for consecutive goals. Junior midfielder Breanne Rideout (San Diego, CA) dished the pass to Bjorndal on the final two netters of the game.
Although Chapman grabbed the ensuing draw control, Redlands recovered a loose ball and headed to the offensive third for a final push to tie it up. Two timeouts later, the Bulldogs earned back-to-back free-position shots but were unable to convert in the waning seconds of the contest, leaving them one goal shy of the comeback.
The defensive unit of senior defenders Angelyn Brown (Danville, CA), Jessica Jackson (Poway, CA), and Grace Martin (Portland, OR) provided great pressure amidst the physical play of the game.
Redlands (8-4, 2-3 SCIAC) hosts Occidental College in a SCIAC showdown on Saturday, April 9, at 7 p.m. on Farquhar Field.
