In familiar fashion, senior forward Fionna Connolly (Salem, OR) provided late-game heroics as the University of Redlands women's soccer team took down the Whittier College Poets in Saturday's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) game by a final score of 1-0.
Sophomore goalkeeper Sabrina Grandke-Bawab (Kirkland, WA) also played a major role by making the most out of her first career Bulldog start, while junior goalkeeper Linzey Smith (Anaheim Hills, CA) wrapped up the final 45 minutes for the combined shutout.
With the win, the Bulldogs earn the season sweep against Whittier after punishing the Poets with an 8-0 decision on Sept. 21.
Throughout a scoreless first half, the Bulldogs out-shot the Poets by a margin of just one but possessed the ball for most of the time. Senior forward Kaily Benenati (Denver, CO) came off the bench to add a little spark for Redlands, taking a couple of good looks for two shots.
After intermission, the game seemed to go back and forth for quite some time before the Maroon and Gray added some pressure on Whittier
In the 73rd minute of play, junior forward Samantha Rivera (Thousand Oaks, CA) and Connolly ripped off back-to-back shots, but the Poets' goalkeeper made great plays to stop the attempts.
At the 75:59-mark, Connolly punched in the game's lone score, adding to her team-leading ninth goal of the season, including the third game-winner.
Whittier put together one of its best opportunities in the 79th minute on a corner kick, but Smith jumped on the attack to make the save. Between Smith and Grandke-Bawab, they combined for five total stops on the afternoon.
The starting backfield of senior Emily van den Bosch (Arcadia, CA), juniors Maddy Cartwright (Salt Lake City, UT) and Ellie Harrington (Seattle, WA), as well as sophomore Amanda Plagge (Boise, ID), kept the Poets in check by allowing only five shots-on-goal en route to the team's third shutout.
Redlands (8-4-1, 5-4 SCIAC) continues its road stint when it faces the Tigers of Occidental College on Wednesday in Eagle Rock at 4 p.m.