The University of Redlands women's water polo team hosted two opponents on Saturday at the Thompson Aquatic Center and earned a 13-8 win over Macalester College (MN) in the evening match. Earlier in the day, the Bulldogs suffered a 4-9 loss to the Athenas of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) tilt.
Against the Scots of Macalester, Redlands stormed out to a 3-0 lead with a well-balanced scoring attack that included a goal and an assist by junior center Kolby Kahahawai (Kailua, HI).
However, Macalester quickly responded to take the 4-3 lead with 5:02 remaining in the second quarter.
The back-and-forth showdown continued, as Redlands gained goals from junior attacker Sami Walker (Taylorsville, UT) and Kahahawai, who converted first-year defender Sarah Draves' (Fallbrook, CA) assist. As the teams headed into the break, the score was knotted at five apiece.
The Bulldogs came out of the halftime break with a newfound energy and determination, as they went on to out-score the Scots, 8-3, in the final two quarters. This was highlighted by a pair of power plays and one five-meter shot. Draves converted the first 6-on-5 opportunity with 5:56 left in the third quarter, while Walker dished out a sweet pass to senior defender Stefanie Goldbach (Huntington Beach, CA) for Redlands' 9-7 lead at the 1:29-mark of the third. During the fourth, the Bulldogs closed out the victory on a 4-1 run that included junior attacker Katelyn Jenkins' (Bellevue, WA) five-meter goal en route to her four-goal effort. In addition, Draves notched her second score of the game with 28 seconds left, with this one coming off senior attacker Michelle Na's (Mercer Island, WA) assist.
Junior goalkeepers Allison Totzke (San Bernardino, CA) and Kelly Grosswendt (Newbury Park, CA) shared time between the pipes, with Totzke providing six stops in 16 minutes of action. Junior defender Carmen Gardner (South San Francisco, CA) and Goldbach each provided three steals in a stellar defensive effort as well.
In the first game of the game, CMS jumped out to a 3-0 lead and forced the Bulldogs to play catch-up from early on. Redlands worked to make the necessary adjustments on defense while finding room to score on offense. Walker ended the home team's scoring drought with a power-play goal at the 5:15-mark of the second quarter.
However, the Athenas answered with back-to-back scores to stretch the lead to five.
Kahahawai fought to create scoring opportunities but CMS successfully confined her creative skills to difficult shots.
Walker converted another goal late in the third frame when she fired off a quick pass from sophomore attacker Olivia Allen (Santa Monica, CA) to make it 2-6.
Although Grosswendt made some incredible saves for the Bulldogs during the final 16 minutes, CMS kept a comfortable advantage through the final whistle. Grosswendt finished with eight saves in a fine effort.
Na and Walker each managed a fourth-quarter score, with junior attacker Breanna O'Dea (Rowland Heights, CA) supplying the assist on the second goal. However, it was not enough, as Redlands came away with a 4-9 loss.
Between the two Redlands matches, CMS battled it out against Macalester and earned a 12-7 win over the Scots.
Redlands (5-13, 3-3 SCIAC) hosts Cal State East Bay on Wednesday, March 21, for a 5 p.m. non-conference match at the Thompson Aquatic Center.
