The University of Redlands women's lacrosse team hit the road for a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) game against the Chapman University Panthers on Saturday night in Orange. The Bulldogs struggled to find their offensive rhythm early in the contest and ultimately came out on the losing end of a 5-10 decision.
After Chapman converted the opening free-position shot for the 1-0 lead, the Bulldogs immediately answered at their first opportunity less than 45 seconds later. Senior midfielder Lacey Bjorndal (Sherwood, OR) grabbed the ensuing draw control, which allowed her team to set up the offensive play. Junior attacker Kelsey Ruhl (Seattle, WA) found junior midfielder Hanna Morford (West Linn, OR) in prime scoring position, as Morford netted the equalizing goal.
However, the Panthers opened the floodgates with five-straight goals to take a 6-1 lead by the 4:17-mark of the first half.
Redlands got back on track when Morford collected the subsequent draw control and then provided a dime of a pass to junior attacker Adi Fellows (Albuquerque, NM), who fired one past the Chapman goalkeeper to make it 2-6.
Although Redlands played a much tighter second half, it could not overcome the deficit and suffered the loss in the teams' second meeting of the season.
Sophomore attacker Sadie Pickering (Tacoma, WA) sent one into the back of the net off another Morford assist at the 23:02-mark, while Morford scored again about six minutes later. Pickering took advantage of a free-position shot with 11:39 to go for the Bulldogs' final goal of the game.
Nonetheless, Chapman maintained its lead throughout the game with tough defense and effective shooting.
Overall, Redlands won the draw-control battle with a 10-7 margin, as Bjorndal hauled in five and Morford snagged four.
Redlands (6-7, 2-4 SCIAC) heads to Whittier College on Wednesday, April 11, to face the Poets in a SCIAC match at 7 p.m.