Despite leaving it all on the field for their season opener, the University of Redlands women's lacrosse team suffered a tough 15-16 loss to the Panthers of Chapman University on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs made a great push, going on a 3-0 run to make it a one-goal game with 11 seconds left to play but that was as close as they would get in the first contest of the regular season.
Chapman nabbed an early 2-0 lead but junior midfielder Casey Lynch (Mount Lebanon, PA) cut the deficit in half at the 23:48-minute mark. However, the Panthers answered with two consecutive netters to put Redlands in a 1-4 hole.
Junior midfielder Joren Fettig (Bend, OR) took matters into her own hands scoring the next two Bulldog goals pulling within one, 3-4. Fettig scored both goals immediately after two successful draw controls. Junior midfielder Alison Waddles (Long Beach, CA) snagged the first one while first-year midfielder Celine Flaig (Redondo Beach, CA) grabbed the second.
The trend continued as Chapman would score one and Redlands matched it just a minute later. At 18:27 Fettig captured the draw control and worked it up the field. Junior attacker Maddie Bush (Ladera Ranch, CA) then found Lynch for the score and a 4-5 tally.
Junior midfielder Maeve Wiencek (Long Beach, CA) added a powerplay goal, while Fettig found the back of the net on a free position shot. The Bulldogs continued to pepper the Panther goal with five shots in the final four minutes of the first half, but the Chapman keeper, unfortunately, made the stops. The home team held the upper hand by the end of the stanza with a slight 8-6 lead.
After an inspiring halftime talk from Head Coach Suzette Soboti, the Maroon and Gray came out of the break with all cylinders firing with back-to-back goals to equalize the score 8-8. After a good clear, Bush made some moves around defenders to take it to the house by herself at the 27:28-minute mark. Just three minutes later, on a Chapman clear-attempt, Bush caused a turnover that Flaig picked up and was subsequently fouled. Flaig netted her free-position goal to even up the score.
After an injury that left Redlands playing down one athlete, momentum began to swing in favor of the home team, putting Redlands in a four-goal hole twice in the second half at 9-13 and again at 12-16 with only 2:44 left to play. Flaig and Waddles combined for Redlands' three goals during that spurt.
However, this never deterred the Maroon and Gray, as sophomore midfielder Emma Beaver (Bend, OR) nabbed the draw control that Flaig took to goal and scored just 30 seconds later. They repeated their efforts in identical fashion on the very next play, Beaver with the draw control, Flaig with the goal to pull within two, 14-16, at 1:57.
First-year goalkeeper Nikki Hutten (Hinsdale, IL) made a crucial save at 46 seconds that Redlands was able to successfully clear going the other way. Waddles was fouled and stayed calm under pressure to put another through the posts for an exciting, 15-16, score with just 11 ticks left on the clock.
Flaig impressively won the next draw control to put Redlands on offense immediately but the clock was the enemy as it wound to zero before the Bulldogs could tie up the score, ultimately falling, 15-16 in a hard-fought battle.
Flaig led with six goals, Bush dished out four assists, Beaver picked up six ground balls, and Waddles snagged five draw controls for a solid team effort. Additionally, Lynch had a great game providing two goals and one assist in her first game playing as an attacker while Hutten made eight saves in her Bulldog debut.
Redlands (0-1) welcomes the Chapman Panthers to Farquhar Field for a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday, April 21.