Redlands Women's Lacrosse Rebounds with 14-11 Victory over Linfield

Redlands Women's Lacrosse Rebounds with 14-11 Victory over Linfield
Posted: Mar 22, 2009

The University of Redlands women’s lacrosse team halted a three-game skid on Sunday with a 14-11 victory over visiting Linfield College (OR) at Farquhar Field. Riding a 9-3 halftime lead, the Bulldogs held off a final push by the Wildcats that included eight second-period goals.

Redlands jumped out to an early 4-0 lead with junior attack player Diana Frey (Silver Spring, MD) initiating the scoring just 16 seconds into the game. Sophomore midfielder Christy Smith (St. Louis Park, MN), senior midfielder Liza Gray (Centennial CO), and junior attack player Mary Shepherd (Dallas, TX) each put one away in the first nine minutes of action to give the Bulldogs a solid advantage.

After allowing just three goals in the opening period, Redlands closed out the final 7:26 of the half with unanswered scores from Smith, Shepherd, junior attack player Haley Kern (Portland, OR), and junior attack player Anna Moriarty (Oak Park, IL).

During the second period, Linfield fought back, earning five consecutive goals in the first 15 minutes of action to pull within two.

The teams traded goals in the ensuing minutes before the Bulldogs gained two scores from Smith and one from freshman midfielder Erika Busch (West Linn, OR). Despite a late-game rally by the Wildcats that included three consecutive goals, Redlands’ Kern put away another insurance goal with 27 seconds remaining for the 14-11 win.

In addition to her two goals, Shepherd provided two assists for the Bulldogs, while Moriarty contributed two assists along with her single score. Senior defender Julia Chope (San Francisco, CA) patrolled the field with six ground balls as senior defender Amy Gulbranson (Bainbridge Island, WA) added five. Senior midfielder Lauren Matta (Holyoke, MA) tallied nine draw controls, one goal, and three ground balls. Besides her goal, Gray added four draw controls and one assist for the Bulldogs.

Redlands (3-3) hosts a slew of games this week, facing off against Birmingham-Southern College (AL) on Tuesday at 7 p.m., Oberlin College (OH) on Thursday at 7 p.m., and then SUNY Potsdam (NY) at 12 noon on Friday. All games take place at Farquhar Field.