With overall versatility on both ends of the field, the University of Redlands women's lacrosse team captured a 14-9 victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps College under the lights at Farquhar Field on Wednesday night. While never trailing in the contest, the Bulldogs fired off four goals in a five-minute span to recapture the momentum midway through the second stanza en route to the important Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) triumph.
After a back-and-forth start to the contest, the Maroon and Gray broke a two-all tie with two scores in a 16-second span. First, senior attack player KK McCaslin (Portland, OR) took a pass from freshman attack player Dulce Moll (Mercer Island, WA) and fired it past the Athena goalkeeper at 22:40. Then, freshman midfielder Breanne Rideout (San Diego, CA) grabbed the ensuing draw control to eventually set up junior midfielder Emily Dalrymple's (Snohomish, WA) score off of McCaslin's assist.
The teams traded goals over the next 20 minutes, ending with Moll's key free-position score with 2:02 on the first-half clock for Redlands' 6-4 lead.
Although CMS came out of halftime with a newfound energy and scored back-to-back goals to tie it up, the Maroon and Gray quickly responded with four netters by a quartet of Bulldogs, garnering a 10-6 lead with 20:29 remaining on the clock. Junior attack player Liz Keilty's (Yorba Linda, CA) free-position goal capped off the run and became the eventual game-winner.
The Athenas pulled one back less than a minute later, but the stingy Redlands defense stepped up with key contributions down the stretch for the important conference win.
The Bulldogs racked up 12 caused turnovers on the night, with sophomore midfielder Sam Keary (Mission Viejo, CA) providing a match-high three stick checks. Sophomore goalkeeper Izzy Baez (Zionsville, IN) and freshman goalkeeper Gigja Hollyday (Aliso Viejo, CA) joined forces as the team's last line of defense, making five saves between them.
Overall, the Bulldogs benefitted from a well-balanced attack that included six different point-scorers, with MCCaslin leading the effort with four goals and an assist. After the game, McCaslin shared her thoughts about the importance of the win as well as the adjustments that her team made in the second half.
Watch the post-game interview.
Furthermore, Moll added three goals and two assists, while sophomore midfielder Stephanie Garrett (San Diego, CA) offered three goals and one assist for the Bulldogs.
Finally, Garrett topped the competition with five draw controls, while sophomore defender Jessica Jackson (Poway, CA) led the Bulldogs with five ground balls.
Redlands (9-3, 6-1 SCIAC) takes to the road for its next two contests, starting with Saturday's showdown at Whittier College at 11 a.m.
