After the conclusion of the double round-robin, the University of Redlands women's lacrosse team is set to play host to the Occidental College Tigers in the first round of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Tournament on Wednesday evening under the lights on Farquhar Field at 7 p.m.
Per SCIAC policy, general admission is $10, with senior citizens and military personnel receiving a discounted price of $5. All current students or SCIAC personnel with a valid school ID, and children under age 12 will be admitted for free.
Additionally, the contest will be broadcasted live through the SCIAC portal for a fee of $10. Live stats will be available at no cost.
During the double, round-robin conference schedule, the No. 4-seeded Bulldogs (10-7, 4-6 SCIAC) defeated the No.5-seeded Tigers (7-10, 1-9 SCIAC) twice on the year – first with a commanding 13-7 victory that was followed by an 11-10 nail-biter in their most recent match-up.
Senior midfielder Stephanie Garrett (San Diego, CA), who is the reigning, two-time SCIAC Player of the Year, helms the Bulldogs on the offensive end by firing home a conference-leading 50 goals on the season, which is nearly 25 percent of the team's overall total. She has worked to own the majority of possessions for the Maroon and Gray, with 88 draw controls and 52 ground balls. In addition, sophomore midfielder Lacey Bjorndal (Sherwood, OR) owns 34 goals for 39 points, while freshman midfielder Hanna Morford (West Linn, OR) has put together a fantastic inaugural campaign thus far by netting 31 scores and reeling in 28 ground balls. Sophomore goalkeeper Quinn Egan (Greenwood Village, CO) spends the majority of the minutes between the posts en route to 107 saves in just over 707 minutes of action.
Occidental boasts a three-headed offensive attack that includes a fairly even split in scoring. Senior attacker Mackenzie Wright (Annandale, VA) leads the way, as she has netted 39 goals and dished out 22 assists en route to a total of 66 points. Sophomore attacker Sierra Slack (Voorhees, NJ) supplies a solid scoring option with 37 goals to go along with 20 assists, while junior midfielder Rebecca Reese (Portland, OR) has scored 36 goals for the Tigers. Defensively, freshman goalkeeper Neah Bois (Alta, UT) has been slotted in goal every game for the Tigers en route to making 83 saves in 1,020 minutes.
In the other first-round matchup, the No. 3 Chapman University Panthers play host to the No. 6 Whittier College Poets. Chapman owns the season series by defeating the Poets twice by the scores of 13-12 and 13-6. Junior attacker Gretchen Rodenberger (San Jose, CA) leads the Panther offense with 43 goals on the season, which ranks her third in the SCIAC, while freshman midfielder Lauren Tudor (Bellevue, WA) paves the way on offense for the Poets with 41 goals and 34 assists on the season.
The winner of tonight's games move on to the semifinals of the SCIAC Championship Tournament, which will take place on Saturday, April 30, at top-seeded Pomona-Pitzer Colleges and No. 2-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. The lowest remaining seed will face the Athenas, with the other winner taking on the Sagehens.
