The fourth-seeded University of Redlands women's lacrosse team squared off against the top-seeded Pomona-Pitzer Colleges Sagehens during Saturday's semifinal game of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship Tournament. In an incredibly defensive showdown, the Bulldogs left it all on the field in a hard-fought, high-quality match, but suffered a heartbreaking 6-7 loss in triple overtime.
The teams battled toe-to-toe in their third meeting of the campaign, with neither squad gaining more than a two-goal advantage at any moment of the game.
The Sagehens took an early 2-0 lead but the Bulldogs responded with a pair of scores, as junior midfielder Stephanie Garrett (San Diego, CA) and senior midfielder Emily Dalrymple (Snohomish, WA) each fired one past the opposing goalkeeper.
More than six minutes later, Garrett put Redlands up for the first time in the contest, as she successfully converted a free-position shot with 13:23 left on the first-half clock.
But the Sagehens managed to even the count with a free-position goal of their own at the 11:38-mark.
The back-and-forth drama continued just 20 seconds later, when the Maroon and Gray gained another goal from Dalrymple after she received a key assist from sophomore attack Dulce Moll (Mercer Island, WA).
However, Pomona-Pitzer answered once again by tying it up at four apiece on its ensuing possession.
A scoreless nine minutes completed the first half as a sign of things to come in the remainder of the game. During this stretch, the teams combined for five shots, which resulted in three saves and two defensive blocks.
Redlands came out firing in the second half, earning a 6-4 lead by the 18:30-mark of the frame. Moll found Garrett for a score during a man-up opportunity after the only yellow card of the game, before Garrett dished out a pass to senior attack Elizabeth Keilty (Yorba Linda, CA), who successfully buried it into the back of the net.
But the Sagehens managed to keep the Bulldogs off the scoreboard for the rest of the game while evening the count at six apiece through regulation and forcing the overtime.
Following two three-minute extra periods of scoreless action, Pomona-Pitzer found the breakthrough goal early in the sudden-victory stanza for the hard-fought decision over the Maroon and Gray.
Defensively, both teams stepped up with a combined 26 caused turnovers, with the Bulldogs earning 14. Redlands gained three apiece from Garrett, senior defender Robin Taylor (Poway, CA), and freshman midfielder Lacey Bjorndal (Sherwood, OR).
The Bulldogs also picked up more ground balls than the home team, amassing 25 on the night. Garrett and Dalrymple combined for nine.
Sophomore goalkeeper Gigja Hollyday (Aliso Viejo, CA) patrolled the Redlands cage while making eight saves and grabbing three ground balls.
With the loss, Redlands' season has concluded with a 10-8 overall record and a 6-6 SCIAC mark.