The University of Redlands women's lacrosse team left no doubt in its fourth meeting of the season with Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, defeating the Sagehens by a score of 14-6 in Saturday's second round of the 2014 NCAA Division III Championships. The Bulldogs broke a 2-2 tie with seven unanswered goals to take a commanding lead and never looked back.
With the win, Redlands (14-4) faces SUNY Cortland in its first-ever, third-round game of the NCAA Championships. The Red Dragons currently own a 20-0 mark on the season as the No. 1 team in the nation. Match details will be announced early next week.
After the teams traded scores in a defensive start to Saturday's competition, Redlands' sophomore midfielder Sam Keary (Mission Viejo, CA) pulled in a sweet draw control to set up an important offensive possession. Moments later, senior midfielder Jacky Craycraft (Trabuco Canyon, CA) found senior attack player Allie Hoffler (Draper, UT) for a 3-2 lead with 13:08 left in the first half.
Less than 30 seconds later, sophomore midfielder Stephanie Garrett's (San Diego, CA) draw control led to a beautiful bang-bang play from behind the goal, as junior midfielder Emily Dalrymple (Snohomish, WA) fired off a perfect pass to sophomore midfielder Ellen Holt (Happy Valley, OR), who unleashed an untouchable shot past the Pomona-Pitzer goalkeeper.
Holt and Craycraft combined forces on the Bulldogs' next netter, before Redlands uncorked three-straight free-position goals for a solid 8-2 lead by the one-minute mark of the stanza.
Craycraft put the icing on the fantastic first half with another score to end the period, with junior attack player Liz Keilty (Yorba Linda, CA) distributing the ball to her.
During the second stanza, Redlands continued to press while maintaining impressive poise and determination. The Maroon and Gray built a nine-goal advantage with less than 10 minutes to play, with Craycraft, senior attack player/midfielder KK McCaslin (Portland, OR), and Keary all finding the back of the net.
Although the Sagehens cut the deficit to seven on two occasions, the Bulldogs' postseason victory was never in question.
Overall, Garrett, McCaslin, and Craycraft each notched a hat trick. Garrett also nabbed a game-high seven draw controls, accounting for all but three of Redlands'.
Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Izzy Baez (Zionsville, IN) and freshman goalkeeper Gigja Hollyday (Aliso Viejo, CA) split time between the pipes, recording six and five saves, respectively, for a tremendous performance for the Bulldogs. Keary provided four ground balls and three caused turnovers in an impressive night as well.
For Pomona-Pitzer, Aubrey Douglass and Sarah Markowitz both tallied two goals.
Watch Redlands' post-game interview with Head Coach Suzette Soboti, Craycraft, and Garrett.
