The second day of the 2016 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championships took place on Saturday at the beautiful Thompson Aquatic Center on the campus of the University of Redlands. 

No. 7 Cal Lutheran University vs. No. 9 Caltech:

The day began with the No.7 Cal Lutheran University Regals facing off against the No. 9 Caltech Beavers to stay alive in the tournament and face the No. 6 University of Redlands Bulldogs in today's final game.  The Regals left no doubt as they ran away with the victory with a six-goal showing in the opening frame en route to a dominating 16-3 victory.

Cal Lutheran poured on the offense in the first four minutes action, scoring six-straight netters, with senior attack player Darby Schuett leading the charge with two goals.

After Caltech's senior center Stephanie Wong (Palos Verdes Estates, CA) responded with a late first-period goal, the Regals continued to cruise with a five-goal outburst over the next 11 minutes of action in the pool.  The Beavers put together their best offensive effort in the third frame with two goals by freshman utility player Brittany Percin (Moraga, CA). 

Cal Lutheran finished out the game with a 16-3 win after 14 different players notched one goal.

Freshman goalkeeper Elise Cutts (Portland, OR) supplied three saves for the Beavers.  Senior goalkeeper Gina Merry (West Hills, CA) and freshman goalkeeper Bailey Meyer (Santa Ana, CA) split time in the cage for the Regals, with each notching five saves.

Caltech completed the 2016 season with 3-20 overall record, while Cal Lutheran moved on to face Redlands in tonight's final match.

No. 2 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges vs. No. 3 University of La Verne: 

During the second game of the day, the No. 3 University of La Verne Leopards eked out a 10-9 upset over the No. 2 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges Sagehens to advance to Sunday's championship game. 

After a back-and-forth battle through the first two periods, the Leopards broke a 4-all tie to take a 7-4 lead midway through the third frame.  Senior utility player Emily Randall (La Verne, CA) initiated the rally, before junior center Megan Little (Orange, CA) and freshman attack player Guarina Garcia (Caroline, Puerto Rico) added to the offensive spurt. 

But the Sagehens weren't done yet, as they fired off four-straight scores to regain the lead at 8-7.  Freshman attack player Anna Yu (Santa Clara, CA) ended her team's scoring drought with 3:14 left in the third frame, while senior defender Megan Snow (Covina, CA) cut the deficit with one less than a minute later.  Sophomore attack player Morgan McCracken (Atherton, CA) knotted the score with her second goal of the game, before junior center Christina Williamson (Mercer Island, WA) capped off her hat trick performance to finish off the Sagehens' run.

Much like the start of the game, the teams traded scores on high-quality possessions but La Verne gained the upper hand for the win on sophomore center Jasmine Bustamante's (Whittier, CA) only goal of the game with just over a minute to go.

The Sagehens had their chances to force the overtime, but the Leopards' stellar defense, including junior goalkeeper Cambria Serrano's (Torrance, CA) presence and direction in the cage, kept them off the board.

Serrano finished the game with seven stops. 

Junior goalkeeper Ahsha Earwood (Los Angeles, CA) provided a quality effort for the Sagehens, earning eight saves.

Pomona-Pitzer moves onto the third-place match at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.

No. 1 Whittier College vs. No. 5 Chapman University:

The top-seeded Poets of Whittier College advanced to Sunday's championship game with a 17-9 victory over the No. 5 Chapman University Panthers. 

Whittier built an early lead with a well-balanced attack that included first-period goals from five different players.  Senior attack player Cynthia Castillo (Los Angeles, CA) led the offensive charge with two scores in the opening quarter.

Chapman's senior utility player Kate Avery (Lafayette, CA) put the Panthers on the board with a pair of goals as well.

During the second stanza, the Poets continued to pull away by taking advantage of quality shots. They made it 8-2 with individual scores by Castillo and junior attack player Arlin De La Mora (Commerce, CA) before the five-minute mark. 

However, the Panthers continued to fight by closing out the quarter on a 4-2 run to cut the deficit to four by the midway point of the game.  Junior two-meter defender Emily Fong (Saratoga, CA) initiated the scoring stretch, before sophomore utility player Katie Dalgamouni (Kaneohe, HI), senior utility player Alison Quincy (San Ramon, CA), and freshman attack player Grace Schade (Fullerton, CA) each offered a goal.

Nonetheless, Whittier remained in control throughout the second half, earning the 17-9 win for a spot in the championship game against the No. 3 University of La Verne.

Castillo led the Poets with five goals on the day, while De La Mora and senior attack player Angelica Hernandez (Pico Rivera, CA) each provided hat tricks.

For Chapman, Fong and Avery recorded the only multi-goal showings.

Junior goalkeeper Caitlin Bronzan (Brentwood, CA) patrolled the Poet cage, making six saves in the win.  Sophomore goalkeeper Kerry Goodspeed (Northbrook, IL) and graduate student goalkeeper Alyssa Welfringer (Huntington Beach, CA) split time in the Panther cage, with each providing four stops.

Chapman will compete in the third-place match at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow.

No. 4 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges vs. No. 8 Occidental College:

On the heels of sophomore attack player Roxy Kiessling's (Honolulu, HI) six-goal showing, the No. 4 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges Athenas earned their spot in Sunday's fifth-place match with a hard-fought 9-6 win over the No. 8 Occidental College Tigers.

The Athenas garnered a 2-0 lead after the first frame, as Kiessling initiated the scoring and sophomore attack player Claire Baxter (Riverside, CT) quickly followed suit. 

Following the defensive-heavy opening quarter, Oxy's offense got things rolling by tying the score at two apiece with goals by freshman utility player Claudia Oppermann (Fallbrook, CA) and senior utility player Lizzy Kosin (La Grange Park, IL).

However, CMS' Kiessling answered with a pair of goals to regain the Athena lead at 4-2. 

But the Tigers cut the deficit to one less than 20 seconds later, as Kosin fired off her second netter of the day.

Nonetheless, the Athenas stepped up once again by closing out the second stanza with a late goal by freshman attack player Krystal Sung (Windsor, CT).

Leading by 5-3 to start the third period, CMS cruised to an 8-4 lead and eventually held off a late push by the Tigers to snag the 8-6 victory.

Kosin finished with a hat trick for Occidental.

Sophomore goalkeeper Mariah Mastrodimos (Rancho Santa Fe, CA) registered five saves in a complete-game win for the Athenas.  Junior goalkeeper Anna De Groot (Sunnyvale, CA) provided a quality showing for the Tigers by earning eight saves in the loss.

No. 6 University of Redlands vs. No. 7 Cal Lutheran University:

In the final match of the day, the No. 7 Cal Lutheran University Regals scored with nine seconds left to capture an exciting 8-7 win over the No. 6 University of Redlands Bulldogs.  With the win, the Regals gain a spot in the fifth-place match on Sunday against the CMS Athenas. 

With the sore knotted at seven, the Regals moved the ball down to the other end of the pool and fired off a shot.  Redlands' freshman goalkeeper Katelyn Jenkins (Bellevue, WA) appeared to make the save, but the ball drifted past for the goal. 

Redlands quickly reset and uncorked a quality last-second shot, but senior goalkeeper Gina Merry (West Hills, CA) came up with the save to avoid overtime.

Earlier in the contest, Cal Lutheran garnered a 3-1 lead after the first period and then extended it to 4-2 at the half.  Sophomore attack player KC Brendel (San Diego, CA) accounted for two of the Regals' goals, while senior utility player Taylor Christie (Anaheim, CA) and senior attack player Annie Kinney (Newport Beach, CA) scored for Redlands.

During the third stanza, Redlands came out firing and tied it up at four apiece with scores on back-to-back possessions.  Freshman attack players Sami Walker (Taylorsville, UT) and Breanna O'Dea (Rowland Heights, CA) found the back of the net for the Bulldogs.

The teams proceeded to trade scores through the final whistle, with neither squad gaining more than a one-goal lead.

Overall, Christie led the Bulldog attack with a hat trick, while Brendel paced the Regals also with three goals.

Jenkins finished with six saves in the second half, while Merry collected eight on the other end.

Redlands now faces No. 8 Occidental College in the seventh-place match on Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Thompson Aquatic Center.

For all box scores and a complete schedule for Sunday, please visit the tournament page.