The University of Redlands women's water polo team headed to Chapman University to wrap up Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) dual-match play. In a tight game that left the teams in a stalemate at four apiece through regulation, the Bulldogs dug deep to complete the regular season on a positive note in a 5-4 thriller.
The Panthers kicked off the game with a power-play goal, but the Bulldogs matched it just over a minute later with a goal from senior attacker Michelle Na (Mercer Island, WA).
The second period saw minimal scoring, as Chapman put just one goal through the posts for the only offense in that frame.
After another Chapman goal to kick off the third, sophomore attacker Olivia Allen (Santa Monica, CA) successfully executed a five-meter shot to shrink the Maroon and Gray's gap to 2-3.
At the 3:48-mark of the third, junior attacker Sami Walker (Taylorsville, UT) evened the score at three. Unfortunately two minutes later, the Panthers went ahead to enter the fourth quarter with a 4-3 advantage.
Stingy defense on both ends of the pool allowed no scoring through the first six minutes of the fourth period. With just 2:05 left of the clock, Na found the back of the net for the 4-4 equalizer that ultimately sent the game into overtime.
Nearly the entire first, three-minute overtime period saw no scoring until there was only one tick left on the clock and junior center Kolby Kahahawai (Kailua, HI) muscled her way through traffic and fired one past the Panther goalkeeper to put Redlands up, 5-4.
The Bulldogs held off Chapman in the final overtime period to take home an exciting, hard-fought, 5-4 win on the road.
Junior goalkeeper Kelly Grosswendt (Newbury Park, CA) was huge between the pipes by providing 12 saves and a team-leading, two steals.
With the victory, the Bulldogs (8-21, 6-8 SCIAC) sit in sixth place in SCIAC behind a tie for fourth and now await the outcomes of the remaining games, which will determine their final spot in the standings.