The University of Redlands split a pair of non-conference matchups at home against Fordham University (NY) and McKendree University (IL) on Thursday night. The Bulldogs fell 8-13 in the first contest against the Rams, before taking down the Bearcats 17-11 in the nightcap.
In game one, the Rams controlled a 9-4 advantage heading into halftime. Despite coming out of the break with another goal to extend their lead, the Maroon and Gray offense began to click with three consecutive goals.
Junior attacker Jasen Swan (Glendora, CA) found senior center Cooper Krause (Denver, CO) for a goal less than two minutes into the period. Senior attacker Carter Kerwin (Bakersfield, CA) and Chris Frejlach (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) subsequently sank back-to-back penalty shots to cut the deficit to 7-10 with 3:57 to go in the third. Swan scored the final goal of the stanza, but the Rams never let up, to ultimately hold on to a 13-8 victory in the first game of the afternoon.
In game two, it was the Redlands who built an early advantage over the Bearcats. Senior attacker Spencer Allen (Long Beach, CA) supplied three of the Bulldog's five, first-period goals. The Maroon and Gray took advantage of playing a man up, capitalizing on exclusions on McKendree by scoring their next four goals on power plays. With just under six minutes to go in the second period, Redlands owned an 8-3 advantage.
As play went on, the Bearcats managed to cut their deficit to four before halftime, sending the teams into the break at 10-6 in favor of the Bulldogs.
The Maroon and Gray opened the third stanza with two goals from Krause and Kerwin to extend their lead even further. However, McKendree put together a 3-1 spurt to close the period to make it 10-15 heading into the final eight minutes of action.
Krause and first-year attacker Drake Moody (Camarillo, CA) widened the gap with two goals in the fourth period to cement a 17-11 victory for the Maroon and Gray.
Allen and Krause led the team with four goals, while Allen also added two assists and a steal. In net, sophomore goalkeeper Jason Gates (San Jose, CA) registered eight saves and a steal.
Redlands (8-7, 2-1 SCIAC) heads to Claremont to face the Naval Academy (MD) and Johns Hopkins University (MD) at the Gary Troyer Tournament on Saturday, October 5, beginning at 10:20 a.m.
