While competing in its second game in as many nights, the University of Redlands women's lacrosse team battled it out with the Red Dragons of SUNY Oneonta in an incredibly tight contest, but the Bulldogs suffered a late-game loss by a score of 10-11.
After trailing early in the contest, the Maroon and Gray clawed its way back to tie it up at five apiece with 9:14 remaining in the opening period. Sophomore midfielder Ellen Holt (Happy Valley, OR) capped off the comeback when she converted a man-up goal off of an assist from senior attack player Allie Hoffler (Draper, UT). This duo plus sophomore midfielder Stephanie Garrett (San Diego, CA) accounted for the team's first four goals of the night.
On Oneonta's ensuing possession, the Red Dragons failed to find the back of the net, as Redlands' freshman goalkeeper Gigja Hollyday (Aliso Viejo, CA) came up with a huge save. The Bulldogs took the ball downfield and then looked to senior midfielder Jacky Craycraft(Trabuco Canyon, CA) to fire off a goal with 6:43 left in the stanza for her team's first lead of the game.
From here, the teams traded scores, with neither squad garnering an advantage of more than one goal through the final whistle. During the first half, the two sides mimicked each other in nearly statistical category, with Redlands holding the edge in shots with a 15-12 margin.
The hard-fought contest continued throughout the second stanza, with the Maroon and Gray grabbing a slight 10-9 lead with 4:21 left on the clock. Garrett connected on a sweet pass to freshman midfielder Breanne Rideout (San Diego, CA) to put Redlands out in front.
However, Oneonta took advantage of two costly Bulldog turnovers, when Jillian Donodeo evened the count with an unassisted score at the 2:05-mark.
The Red Dragons then pulled in the subsequent draw control, setting up a final goal-scoring opportunity for the victory. After moving the ball around for nearly two minutes, Donodeo came up with the game-winning goal, leaving little time on the clock for Redlands to respond.
Although senior attack player KK McCaslin (Portland, OR) nabbed the draw control to gain possession for Redlands, the Red Dragons forced a turnover that crushed any chance of a tying goal from the Maroon and Gray.
Garrett finished the night with a team-leading four goals and two assists. She also topped all players with six draw controls while collecting three ground balls.
Hollyday provided a solid effort between the pipes, amassing seven saves on the night.
Donodeo led the Red Dragons with four goals and two assists, while Casey Sarle nabbed four draw controls.
Redlands (3-2, 3-1 SCIAC) takes to the road for its next four contests, beginning with Saturday's 11 a.m. showdown against Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in Claremont. Fans may access live stats and web-streaming through the Bulldog women's lacrosse schedule page.
