First-place Redlands deals lacrosse another defeat

ORANGE, Calif. – A strong second half by the University of Redlands women's lacrosse team erased any thoughts of a Chapman University upset as the first-place Bulldogs cruised to a 17-8 win over the host Panthers in a SCIAC matchup at Wilson Field on Wednesday night. The loss was Chapman's third in a row in SCIAC play.

Trailing by one goal at halftime, Redlands (11-3 overall, 8-1 SCIAC) scored the first seven goals of the second half to take a commanding lead and limited Chapman (4-10 overall, 2-7 SCIAC) to just a pair of goals in the period.

The Panthers took a 6-3 lead with 6:08 remaining in the first half thanks to a deliberate and slow tempo offensive scheme. Sophomore M Brooke Martini scored two of her team-high three goals in the first half and freshman M Gretchen Rodenberger scored a pair of goals to help Chapman build its lead. The Panthers also won the possession battle early with several key draw control victories. Freshman M Tessa Oliaro scored a pair of goals as well for the Panthers.

However, the Bulldogs rallied with a pair of free position goals by Stephanie Garrett to cut Chapman's lead to 6-5 at halftime. Garrett finished tied with teammate KK McCaslin with a game-high six goals. Including its two late first-half scores, Redlands scored nine consecutive goals to reverse the deficit, holding the Panthers scoreless for nearly 30 minutes.

Chapman will conclude the regular season with its home finale on Saturday night against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in what is expected to be a preview of the first round of the SCIAC Championships and a battle for home-field advantage in the first round. Saturday night will also be 'Senior Night' for a quartet of Chapman seniors – the last remaining members of the Panthers' club national championship team from 2011.

The Panthers will also hold their annual 'Pink Ribbon' night at Wilson Field on Saturday, to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research. The game versus the Athenas will begin at 7 p.m.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscore: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/wlax/2013-14/boxscores/20140416_s10e.xml

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