The University of Redlands women's soccer squad continued its voyage in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) competition on Saturday by taking on the Cal Lutheran University Regals on Farquhar Field. Despite a second-half push that resulted in 11 shots, the Bulldogs fell to the Regals by a score of 1-2.

Cal Lutheran successfully capitalized on two of its first three scoring opportunities to quickly grab a 2-0 lead by the 16th minute.

With plenty of time left in the game, the Bulldogs quickly recuperated by nicely settling into the contest. From here on, the Bulldogs allowed just three more Regal shots in the first half. Junior defender Sam Keary (Mission Viejo, CA) and freshman defender Erin Schlosser (Sammamish, WA) set the tone for the Maroon and Gray backfield, as they put forth full effort on every play presented.

With the defense holding strong, the Maroon and Gray worked the ball toward the offensive third to eventually notch an equal number of scoring opportunities as the opponents. Headlining this pursuit, junior midfielder Summer Norquist (Boise, ID) uncorked two shots in the first stanza. In addition, sophomore midfielder Abby Palkowitz (San Diego, CA) attempted to knock a header past the Cal Lutheran goalkeeper from nine yards out but was denied by a slight margin.

During the second half, the Bulldogs refused to go away as they searched for the comeback by blasting off 11 shots from a combined six Bulldogs.

Sophomore midfielder Kate Frame (Fox Island, WA) applied immediate pressure to the Regals' defense by blasting off attempts in the 53rd and 55th minutes.

After two shots from junior midfielder Savannah Laursen (Boise, ID) and another attempt from Palkowitz, senior forward Lihini Weerasinghe (Redlands, CA) fired a laser past the Regals' goalkeeper for the Bulldogs' score in the 74th minute. She received the ball off of a brilliant assist from Laursen, cutting the deficit to one.

With enough time to find the equalizer, Redlands looked to sophomore midfielder McKenzie Oliger (Seattle, WA) as she uncorked a shot that was just inches away.

Unfortunately, the Bulldogs ran out of time on the rally, resulting in the 1-2 defeat.

The Bulldogs transformed their game on both sides of the ball, as they out-shot Cal Lutheran, 16-6. Defensive contributions from junior goalkeeper Lexi Felix (Kailua, HI), sophomore defender Faith Campbell (Bainbridge Island, WA), and sophomore defender Samantha Burghardt (Gig Harbor, WA) were key aspects to the Bulldogs' second-half success.

The Bulldogs (6-5-2, 4-4-2 SCIAC) face off against the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs in a non-conference match on Monday at 4 p.m. on Farquhar Field.