Following a 10-day layoff from competition, the University of Redlands women's lacrosse returned to action with a newfound fervor by blasting the Poets of Whittier College in Wednesday night's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown on the road. While utilizing nine different goal-scorers, the Bulldogs dominated the home team in a 20-2 victory.
After junior midfielder Hanna Morford (West Linn, OR) hauled in the opening draw, junior attacker Kelsey Ruhl (Seattle, WA) dished out the inaugural assist of the game, as sophomore attacker Sadie Pickering (Tacoma, WA) immediately found the back of the net for the early 1-0 advantage.
Following Morford's first of five goals on the night, Whittier pulled one back to make it a one-score game less than five minutes into the action.
However, the Bulldogs stepped up their play on both ends of the field to unleash 11 unanswered scores through the end of the first half and enter the intermission with a 13-1 lead. This scoring outburst included four of senior midfielder Lacey Bjorndal's (Sherwood, OR) five goals, as well as two goals and an assist each from Morford and senior midfielder Jacquelyn Archey (Sammamish, WA). Ruhl also dished out another assist and fired one into the back of the net. Finally, first-year midfielder Isabella Leonardi (Napa, CA) and junior attacker Adi Fellows (Albuquerque, NM) completed the impressive, first-half offense with one goal apiece.
During this span, the Maroon and Gray gained possession by snagging six draw controls, with sophomore defender Chelsea Sahami (Millbrae, CA) registering two of them.
The second half saw much of the same for Redlands, as senior goalkeeper Quinn Egan (Greenwood Village, CO) remained a brick wall as the Bulldogs' last line of defense. She ultimately finished the game with eight saves on 10 shots faced to go along with four ground balls and three caused turnovers.
In addition, Egan received outstanding support from Sahami, senior defender Katie Koehler (Jackson, WY), and junior midfielder Alexis Pound (Washington, DC).
Redlands' offense continued to fire on all cylinders, with Pickering, first-year attackers Amanda Levandowski (San Diego, CA) and Paige Erlanger (Las Vegas, NV) adding one goal each.
Despite a last-second score from the Poets, the Bulldogs remained comfortably in front for the 20-2 conference win.
Overall, the Maroon and Gray converted nine of 11 free-position shots in a solid effort.
Redlands (7-7, 3-4 SCIAC) returns home to Farquhar Field for Military Appreciation Night on Saturday, April 14, against No. 22 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges at 7 p.m.
