While taking to the road for the first time in over a month, the University of Redlands women's lacrosse team led the entire game on Saturday, defeating Whittier College by a score of 16-12. The Bulldogs built an impressive 11-3 advantage in the opening frame and held off a second-half push by the Poets en route to the Maroon and Gray's 10th overall win of the season.
Sophomore midfielder Stephanie Garrett (San Diego, CA) got Redlands on the board less than five minutes into the game when she converted a sweet pass from senior attack player Allie Hoffler (Draper, UT).
Less than two minutes later, freshman midfielder Breanne Rideout (San Diego, CA) uncorked her first of two goals on the day, extending the Bulldogs' lead.
After Whittier cut the deficit in half, the Maroon and Gray erupted for five-straight goals, with senior midfielder Jacky Craycraft (Trabuco Canyon, CA) firing off two of these scores. In addition, Hoffler dished out two assists during this offensive explosion.
With 12:09 left on the first-half clock, the Poets scored just their second netter of the game, which again inspired an impressive response by the Bulldogs. Redlands closed out the stanza on a 4-1 run to sit comfortably out in front. Freshman attack player Micaela Parisi (Tigard, OR) highlighted this stretch of scoring, as she provided the assist on the opening goal and then capped off the quartet of netters with a successful shot of her own.
Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Izzy Baez (Zionsville, IN) patrolled the cage for the Bulldogs in the first half, making five saves and allowing only three goals.
In a foul-heavy second stanza, both teams took advantage of their multiple free-position attempts, with each squad converting four scores. Furthermore, the Whittier defense stepped up to limit Redlands to only eight shots. Although the Poets made a run at a comeback, the Bulldogs' lead was never in question as they came away with the 16-12 victory.
Craycraft led all scorers with four goals, while Garrett and sophomore midfielder Ellen Holt (Happy Valley, OR) each supplied a hat-trick performance. In addition, Hoffler finished with four assists and a goal.
Overall, the Maroon and Gray gained a slight edge in draw controls, earning a 16-14 advantage, as Garrett topped all competitors with seven.
Redlands (10-3, 7-1 SCIAC) sits in a tie at the top of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) with two games left in the double, round-robin schedule. The Bulldogs head to Chapman University on Wed., April 12, for an important showdown with the Panthers. Fans may follow the action via live stats and video streaming at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/chapman.portal.