The University of Redlands women's soccer team hosted Chapman University on a beautiful, sunny day on Farquhar Field. Although the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) competitors battled through two, nearly-equal halves, the Panthers netted a score late in the first half that provided Dee the difference.
After Redlands celebrated the careers of its five seniors in goalkeeper Hannah Menk (Pleasanton, CA), forward Mollie Craighead (Descanso, CA), defender Erin Schlosser (Sammamish, WA), midfielder Shayla Funk (Fremont, CA), and defender Leanna Vince (Redmond, WA), the Bulldogs were ready for action on Saturday.
The Maroon and Gray came out of the gates firing, as Craighead unleashed a shot that hit the crossbar at the 4:13-mark. Off the deflection, junior midfielder Hayley Romo (Port Orchard, WA) tapped the ball towards goal with no goalkeeper in sight, but a Panther defender stepped in to make the defensive save.
Chapman came right back on the offensive third, earning corner kicks and taking shots, but due to the defensive prowess of Schlosser, Vince, junior Louisa Alstot (Portland, OR), sophomore Bria Bowton (Spokane, WA), and freshman Abby Nordquist (Gig Harbor, WA), a multitude of the shots were blocked.
Over the next 10 minutes, Craighead, Romo, and freshman midfielder Emily Falla (Woodinville, WA) all had great looks towards goal, but the Chapman keeper made the saves.
In the 43rd minute, Chapman jumped on the board on a header-goal off of a corner kick to put Redlands in a 0-1 hole right before halftime.
Menk was challenged early in the second stanza but made two, big, back-to-back saves to keep Redlands within striking distance.
Both teams played tough through the first 20 minutes of the second half, with both offenses taking shots but answering each attempt with goalkeeper saves.
The home team's best opportunity came in the 72nd minute when Schlosser arched a beautifully-placed corner kick towards the far side of the box. Falla found the ball on a bounce and fired it towards goal, but it just nicked the cross bar and went over.
Romo and Schlosser each had a shot in the ensuing 18 minutes, but none went through, as the clock wound down to zero to hand the Bulldogs a tough, 0-1 loss.
Redlands (7-7-1, 4-7-1 SCIAC) looks to bounce back when it travels to the University of La Verne on Wednesday, October 25, for a 7 p.m. SCIAC game.
