The University of Redlands women's lacrosse team opened the 2011 season with a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) victory over the visiting Poets of Whittier College on Wednesday night. After a tight first half, the Bulldogs erupted for 11 goals in the second stanza en route to a 20-12 victory at Farquhar Field.
During the opening period, neither team mustered more than a single-goal lead until senior midfielder Christy Smith (St. Louis Park, MN) converted a free-position shot with 10:58 on the clock for a 6-4 lead in favor of the Bulldogs.
Redlands eventually made it an 8-5 game when sophomore attack player Crystal Painter (Lake George, NY) scored her first goal of the season with just over a minute left in the half.
Whittier's sophomore midfielder Carolyn Mukai (Northborough, MA) responded with a late score to pull within two at the break.
Bulldog freshman midfielder KK McCaslin (Portland, OR) initiated her team's second-half offensive outburst with an unassisted goal at 27:45, which put her team up by three.
After freshman attack player Dana Barraco's (Sandy, UT) goal for the Poets just 10 seconds later, the Maroon and Gray looked to sophomore attack player Aimee Dewan (Alamo, CA) to rattle off back-to-back scores, making it 11-7 for the Bulldogs. McCaslin and junior attack player Blair Callaghan (Tacoma, WA) provided assists on Dewan's respective scores.
Over the next three minutes, the teams traded goals, then Whittier responded with its second run of consecutive goals, leading to a 12-10 advantage for the Bulldogs.
However, Redlands broke it open with six unanswered goals through the seven-minute mark, giving the Bulldogs a sizeable lead that held up for the victory. During this stretch, Painter and junior midfielder Megan Prickett (Poway, CA) recorded two scores apiece.
Dewan led all scorers with six goals, which came off of only eight shots. Prickett, freshman midfielder Jacky Craycraft (Lake Forest, CA) and Painter each provided hat tricks in the season opener. McCaslin recorded four assists in her collegiate debut with the Bulldogs.
Whittier's freshman midfielder Shaina Denny (Seal Beach, CA) recorded five goals while Mukai tallied three scores.
Junior goalkeeper Ana Martinez (Pleasanton, CA) earned the victory for the Bulldogs, making five saves in 60 minutes of action.
Redlands (1-0, 1-0 SCIAC) welcomes the Tigers of Occidental College to Farquhar Field for a SCIAC match on Saturday at 7 p.m.
