The University of Redlands women's lacrosse team held a slight edge early in the game, but eventually fell, 9-16, to Chapman University in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) road contest on Saturday.
Despite a quick goal from the Panthers early in the first half, the Bulldogs answered back with defense as sophomore midfielder Sydney Louie (Lafayette, CA) broke up Chapman's clear attempt. Less than 30 seconds later, she took it all the way with the game-tying goal with 26:32 on the clock. Following a save from senior goalkeeper Allie Gillies (Simi Valley, CA), sophomore midfielder Erika Lopez (Los Angeles, CA) took advantage of her free-position shot to put the Maroon and Gray up 2-1 at the 23:14-mark.
Unfortunately, the Panthers scored five straight, before sophomore midfielder Maeve Wiencek (Sherwood, OR) tallied another free-position shot to make it 3-6 with just over three minutes to go in the half. The Bulldogs scooped up a wide free-position attempt from the Panthers, which led to Louie finding junior attacker Bre Gunderson (San Diego, CA) in front of the net for the score to help cut Redlands' deficit to 4-6 heading into the break.
Right after Wiencek won the draw control to start the second half, Louie connected with sophomore midfielder Joren Fettig (Bend, OR) for the Bulldogs' third consecutive goal that made it 5-6 in the first minute.
The teams traded goals until Chapman went on a 3-0 run for a 10-6 lead nearly midway through the half.
With the Panthers playing with a player down after a foul, Fettig capitalized by finding the back of the net to cut the Bulldogs deficit to, 7-10, nearly midway through the half.
Despite a couple more goals in the final 10 minutes, the Panthers took a 16-9 win.
For the game, both Fettig and Lopez each registered two goals, while senior attacker Charly Walter (Bethesda, MD) picked up four ground balls. Louie was active on both ends with one goal, two assists, a game-high four caused turnovers, and three ground balls.
Redlands (2-2, 2-2 SCIAC) returns home for a five-game homestand, beginning with Occidental College on Wednesday, March, 4, at 7 p.m.
