The University of Redlands women's lacrosse team squared off against the Occidental College Tigers in an exciting Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown on Saturday night. After leading by as many as four goals early on, the Bulldogs overcame two late-game deficits to set up senior midfielder Sam Keary's (Mission Viejo, CA) game-winning goal for their thrilling 11-10 victory on Farquhar Field.
With the score tied at 10 with a minute remaining, Head Coach Suzette Soboti called her final timeout to talk it over with the Bulldogs. The plan worked, as senior midfielder Stephanie Garrett (San Diego, CA) rifled off a pin-point-accurate pass from well outside the circle to Keary, who launched it into the back of the net for the game-winning goal.
Although the Tigers nabbed the ensuing draw control, the Bulldogs' defensive pressure forced the visitors into an out-of-bounds turnover. Redlands successfully possessed the ball for the final ticks of the clock to secure the hard-fought 11-10 victory.
Earlier in the contest, the teams traded scores, before Redlands fired off three-consecutive goals to take a 4-1 lead with 17:42 remaining on the first-period clock. The Bulldogs highlighted their diverse offense, by utilizing three different goal-scorers and three different playmakers on the assists. Freshman attack player Hayley Donnelly (Bellaire, TX, freshman midfielder Hanna Morford (West Linn, O)R, and Garrett each uncorked goals, while freshman attack player Kelsey Ruhl (Seattle, WA), senior midfielder Ellen Holt (Happy Valley, OR), and junior midfielder Breanne Rideout (San Diego, CA)accounted for the assists.
After Oxy cut the deficit to one, Redlands answered with back-to-back goals by Keary to extend its advantage to 6-2.
However, the Tigers closed out the half with a pair of scores to make it a two-goal game.
A key part of Redlands' first-half success came off the stick of sophomore goalkeeper Quinn Egan (Greenwood Village, CO), who racked up six saves.
The second half saw the physical intensity increase, as the teams combined for five yellow cards.
Occidental eventually evened the score at seven and then grabbed the lead at 8-7 with 12:32 left in the game.
Keary stepped up for the Maroon and Gray, knotting the score at eight off of a sweet pass from juanior attack player Dulce Moll (Mercer Island, WA) less than three minutes later.
After the Tigers regained the lead, Garrett fired off back-to-back netters to earn a slight 10-9 advantage for the Bulldogs with 4:15 remaining.
But Oxy responded once again, forcing the Bulldogs to come up with the game-winner in the final minute.
Overall, the match was extremely even, with Redlands gaining a slight 12-11 advantage in draw controls. Garrett hauled in five and Keary nabbed three.
Keary finished with a team-high five goals, while Garrett added a hat trick and two assists. The dynamic duo also combined for nine of the team's 14 ground balls.
Redlands (9-5, 3-4 SCIAC) heads to Whittier College on Wednesday, April 13, for a SCIAC match against the Poets at 7 p.m.
