Redlands Women's Lacrosse Rallies for Record-Breaking 21-15 Win over Roger Williams (RI)

Photo credit: Ryleigh Gissel
Photo credit: Ryleigh Gissel

The University of Redlands women's lacrosse team battled back from five goals down to secure a record-breaking 21-15 win over the visiting Hawks of Roger Williams University (RI) on Tuesday night.  During the non-conference game on Farquhar Field, senior attacker Kelsey Ruhl (Seattle, WA) dished out a school-record nine assists, while senior midfielder Hanna Morford (West Linn, OR) reset the single-game draw-control mark with 15.

After the Hawks jumped on the board early, Redlands gained back-to-back scores from the lucrative combination of Ruhl for the assist to Morford for the goal.  The teams went on to trade scores, with first-year midfielder Sydney Louie (Lafayette, CA) notching one for the Maroon and Gray at the 20:02-mark.  However, the Bulldogs saw their 3-2 lead slip away with the Hawks' three-goal run midway through the first half.

Despite goals from Louie and Morford, the Bulldogs faced a 6-10 hole by halftime.

Roger Williams extended its lead to five less than a minute into the second stanza, but Redlands refused to go away and amped up its offense over the next 10 minutes.  With Morford hauling in the draw control, the Bulldogs worked the ball around and gained the first of eight consecutive goals, with this one coming off the Ruhl-Morford recipe once again.  Following free-position goals from first-year attacker Joren Fettig (Bend, OR) and Morford, Fettig snagged the subsequent draw control and converted the score off Ruhl's assist to bring Redlands within one at 10-11, which forced the Hawks to take a timeout.  The Bulldogs continued to press the offensive pedal, with Morford initiating the team's scoring with three more draw controls.  Morford, Louie, and Fettig accounted for Redlands' next four netters, which put it in front by a score of 14-11 with 19:38 to go.

Nonetheless, Roger Williams mustered a run of its own over the next 11 minutes to eventually retake the lead at 15-14.

But the Bulldogs had the last word, as they fired off seven unanswered goals to capture the 21-15 win over the Hawks.  Outside of the usual suspects, junior midfielder Sadie Pickering (Tacoma, WA) and first-year midfielder Ashley Rende (Mission Viejo, CA) provided goals, with first-year midfielder Maeve Wiencek (Sherwood, OR) dishing out an assist.

Late in the second half, first-year goalkeeper Annie Van Norstrand (Littleton, CO) stepped up with four key stops en route to an 18-save effort in a complete-game showing for the win.  With the score tied at 15, she denied a Hawk free-position shot, which led to Louie's ground ball and Pickering's first goal.  In addition, Louie recorded two of her four caused turnovers during this stretch to keep Roger Williams off-balanced.

With 15 draw controls on the night, Morford reset the single-game standard of 11, which was previously held by Lacey Bjorndal '18.  In addition, Ruhl's nine assists surpass Allie Hoffler's '14 single-game record of seven, which had stood since 2014.

Overall, Morford tallied seven goals, while Louie added five goals, an assist, four caused turnovers, and seven ground balls.

Redlands (3-3) welcomes St. Mary's College (IN) to Farquhar Field on Wednesday, March 13, for a 7 p.m. non-conference tilt.