The University of Redlands women's soccer team traveled to Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Thursday for the semifinal of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament. Although the Sagehens jumped on the board in the 12th minute, the Bulldogs answered right back by scoring the equalizer just 20 seconds later. But, Pomona-Pitzer found the back of the net for the eventual game-winner in the 76th minute, which sent Redlands home with a difficult 1-2 loss.
Redlands' offense got off to a hot start, as sophomore midfielder Hanya Loskutoff (Dublin, CA) and junior midfielder Rachel Tungol (San Ramon, CA) had quality scoring chances in the first three minutes of action.
At the 11:23-mark, Pomona-Pitzer jumped on the board to take an early 1-0 lead. Nonetheless, this lit a fire within Redlands, as junior forward Madison Mills (San Ramon, CA) put up a high cross that found the head of Tungol for the 1-1 equalizer just 20 seconds after the restart.
The Bulldog offense continued to press, with Tungol, Loskutoff, and freshman midfielder Emily Falla (Woodinville, WA) collectively taking four more shots on frame, but the Sagehen goalkeeper made the necessary stops to prevent the visitors' break-through.
On the other end of the field, senior goalkeeper Hannah Menk (Pleasanton, CA) stepped up to the challenge in the last 15 minutes of the first half by making two saves to keep the score knotted at 1-1.
Play remained consistently even through the second stanza, with each team taking three shots. Mills' shot was on frame but was stopped.
However, Pomona-Pitzer broke through to go up 2-1 with 15 minutes remaining in regulation.
Menk did her part as the last line of defense with another stop to keep the Maroon and Gray within striking distance. Senior forward Mollie Craighead (Descanso, CA) tried her foot at a shot in the 88th minute but was not successful, with Redlands leaving it all on the field in the tough loss.
Despite falling short in the tournament, Redlands elevated its play in the second half of the season to snag the No. 3 seed and finish the year with a 9-8-1 overall record and 6-7-1 mark in conference.