The University of Redlands women's water polo team welcomed NCAA Division II opponent Cal State East Bay to the Thompson Aquatic Center for a Wednesday evening tilt. Despite jumping on the board first, the Bulldogs faced an early deficit and ultimately fell short by a score of 7-16.
After two minutes of no scoring for either team, Redlands found the back of the net off the hand of junior attacker Katelyn Jenkins (Bellevue, WA) at the 5:51-mark.
However, the Pioneers tied things up on a power-play goal and then went on to score four more to put the Maroon and Gray in a 1-5 hole through the first quarter.
After two more Pioneer goals, Redlands looked to junior attacker Sami Walker (Taylorsville, UT) to convert on a breakaway play with 2:41 to go in the second quarter. Just two minutes later, Jenkins did the same thing to make the score 3-7.
However, Cal State East Bay reignited its offensive power by scoring five in the third and four in the final quarter to hand the Maroon and Gray a 7-16 loss.
Highlighting Redlands' second-half offense, Jenkins notched her hat-trick goal in the third frame, while sophomore attacker Olivia Allen (Santa Monica, CA) owned Redlands' second goal of that period.
A pair of rookie Bulldogs contributed to the scoring action in the fourth quarter, as first-year attackers August Key (Albuquerque, NM) and Kayla Takakura (Wailuku, HI) each found the back of the net. Takakura's goal came off a nice buzzer-beater assist from junior defender Carmen Gardner (South San Francisco, CA).
Redlands (5-14, 3-3 SCIAC) returns to action on Saturday, March 24, with a two-game schedule on the road. First, the Bulldogs head to Occidental College for an 11 a.m. Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown before making the trek to Cal State Northridge at 3 p.m.