The fourth-seeded University of Redlands women's lacrosse team squared off against the fifth-seeded Occidental College Tigers in Wednesday's first-round match of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship Tournament on Farquhar Field. Amidst a defensive battle that saw each team overcome a three-goal deficit, the Tigers made the final rally to force overtime and secure the golden-goal victory in an 11-10 decision.
After Occidental jumped out to a 3-0 lead, the Bulldogs answered with three goals of their own to even the tally with 10:48 left in the first half. The Tigers gained two of their opening scores from senior midfielder Brita Loeb (Mount Kisco, NY), while Redlands' freshman midfielder Hanna Morford (West Linn, OR) found the back of the net twice. The third Bulldog goal came off of a counterattack that began with a quality defensive play by senior midfielder Sam Keary (Mission Viejo, CA).
The defensive-heavy contest continued, as neither team scored for nearly nine minutes, until freshman attack player Shai Goodman (New York, NY) converted a free-position shot with 1:54 remaining in the half to put Occidental ahead by a score of 4-3.
Head Coach Suzette Soboti's half-time adjustments did the trick for the Bulldogs, as they came out firing with three unanswered goals for their first lead of the game at 6-4. Morford initiated the run and provided the assist on junior attack player Dulce Moll's (Mercer Island, WA) goal, before senior midfielder Stephanie Garrett (San Diego, CA) unleashed her second score of the game.
The teams traded goals over the next 10 minutes, with Redlands maintaining its slight advantage throughout this spurt.
The game endured another scoring drought for nearly eight minutes, which illustrated the defensive battle between the familiar foes.
With 3:11 left on the clock, junior midfielder Breanne Rideout (San Diego, CA) found an open Moll, who unleashed a critical goal for the Bulldogs to make it 10-7. This opportunity was set up by an excellent defensive play on the other end of the field, with Rideout forcing the turnover and senior defender Angelyn Brown (Danville, CA) snagging the ground ball.
But the Tigers refused to go away, as they worked to even the score before the end of regulation. With Occidental winning all three draw controls during this stretch, sophomore attack player Sierra Slack (Voorhees, NJ) stepped up in a big way by providing two of the late goals, including the game-tying score with 1:25 left on the clock.
Occidental had a chance to win it in regulation, but sophomore goalkeeper Quinn Egan (Greenwood Village, CO) made the high-pressure stop to keep the Tigers off the scoreboard in the final seconds. She finished with six saves in just over 48 minutes of work.
During overtime, Head Coach Stephanie Janice Mark called a lucrative timeout after the Tigers countered off of a Bulldog turnover to their offensive third. Moments later, senior attack player Mackenzie Wright (Annandale, VA) connected with Goodman for the golden goal to lift Occidental into the semifinals of the SCIAC Championship Tournament. The Tigers face top-seeded Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Saturday, April 30.
Throughout the game, Occidental's freshman goalkeeper Neah Bois (Alta, UT) provided key plays between the pipes en route to her 12-save performance.
Redlands completes its season at 10-8 overall and 4-7 in conference.
