THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Women's Water Polo team (1-12, 0-1) returned to the west coast for their first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) game of the season at California Lutheran University (CLU) Wednesday afternoon dropping a defensive battle 6-3.
The Bulldogs allowed only two goals in the opening quarter, but managed only themselves at the 2:20 mark from Emma Parker (Yucaipa, CA) who found the back of the net tying the game up at one.
In the second and third quarters Redlands was immaculate defensively, holding the Regals scoreless for :10 seconds short of 16 full minutes dating back to the end of the first. At the 5:51 mark of the second Hannah Long (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) equalized off a Katrina Nielsen (Houston, TX) assist.
The goal that broke the scoreless drought for the Regals came with :13 seconds left in the third quarter.
CLU scored the eventual game-winning goal and made it a two-goal lead in the first minute of the fourth as the Bulldogs trailed by multiple goals for the first time all game despite their scoring drought reaching 14:36.
The multi-goal deficit lasted only :30 seconds as Kaitlynn Pierceall (Beaumont, CA) got the Bulldogs back within one with 6:45 still on the clock. That goal, however, would be their final of the game as CLU scored two more to end the game at 6-3.
It was a very physical contest with 24 total exclusions and a combined shooting percentage of 0.225. The Bulldogs were unable to convert on any of their nine powerplay opportunities, and while they held the Regals to a 0.143 powerplay percentage, they still found two goals.
Nielsen had an assist and Pierceall, Long, and Parker each scored once. In goal Tori Zielinski (Sunnyvale, CA) allowed only six goals and made seven saves as she finished with a 0.538 save percentage. Another notable defensive performance came from Breanna Bailey (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) as she had a game-high three steals.
Redlands returns to the Thompson Aquatic Center for an 11:00 a.m. matchup with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps this Saturday, March 11.