The University of Redlands women's water polo team split a pair of games to close out the Bulldog Invitational on Sunday. The Maroon and Gray took an early lead en route to a 13-4 victory over Ottawa University (AZ) and then ended the day with a tough 4-7 loss to the University of Toronto.
In the first contest, the Spirit scored the first goal of the game, but junior defender Sarah Draves (Fallbrook, CA) dished out a pair of assists to sophomore attacker Holly Kvanvig (Beaverton, OR) on power plays to help break open a 4-1 lead after eight minutes of action.
Both teams played solid defense in the second period until senior attacker Hunter Olivier (Indio, CA) slipped through for her second tally of the game to make it 5-1 with 4:28 to go in the first half.
Although Ottawa answered with a goal less than a minute later, first-year goalkeeper Tori Zielinski (Sunnyvale, CA) launched a well-placed pass from the cage in the path of sophomore attacker Nicolette Ramirez (Whittier, CA), who found the back of the net to take a 6-2 lead with 2:44 to go in the period. Ramirez went on to assist on two of the Bulldogs' next five unanswered goals, while Draves also scored two in that stretch to build a 10-2 advantage.
The Spirit scored the first two goals of the fourth, but the Maroon and Gray closed the game out with scores from three different players in the last 1:36 to seal a 13-4 victory.
For the game, Olivier led with three goals, while Draves, Kvanvig, and Ramirez, each registered two. First-year attacker Katrina Nielsen (Houston, TX) paced the defense with a game-high three steals.
In the second game, the Varsity Blues got out to a quick 3-1 lead after the first period.
Following a defensive-laden second period with no goals coming from either team, Olivier found Draves for her second assist of the game to cut their deficit down to 2-4 with 4:58 remaining in the third stanza.
The Maroon and Gray worked hard to battle back with fourth-quarter goals coming from Kvanvig and Olivier, but the Varsity Blues escaped with the 7-4 win.
Kvanvig paced the Bulldogs' offensive effort with two goals, while Olivier led the game with a pair of assists.
Redlands (2-3) prepares to face Caltech on Wednesday, February 26, in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) road matchup at 7 p.m.