Women's water polo comeback turned away in final seconds
ORANGE, Calif. – It came down to the slimmest of margins. The final shot stayed halfway out and a valiant comeback attempt came up six inches short in a 7-6 loss for the Chapman University women's water polo team against visiting Redlands.
The Panthers trailed 7-2 early in the third but did not allow a Redlands goal over the final 15 minutes – nearly the entire second half. Freshman Jamie Chin was the catalyst in the comeback attempt, scoring all three goals in the second half.
Down 7-2 after an early goal, Chin scored in the third before the defenses stepped up the rest of the way. Georgina Burton made 11 saves and allowed just three goals from the Bulldogs on nine 6-on-5 chances.
Grace Stuart scored about halfway through the fourth as the Burton and the Panthers continued to shutout Redlands through much of the second half. Chin added her second goal just less than two minutes later to put Chapman back in the game trailing just 7-5. It was Chin again with 58 seconds remaining to bring Chapman within one.
Redlands milked the clock on its ensuing possession but Camille Chiang swiped a way a pass into the middle to give Chapman the ball back. Julia Bridges replaced Burton for an extra attacker during Chapman's final timeout.
The Panthers moved the ball and found an open shot for Bridges with five seconds remaining. Redlands' goalie Tori Zielinski tipped the shot and got just enough to push the ball into the post. It shot back across the face of the cage, seemingly straddling the goal line. Zielinski swiped it out before it could drift into the net to preserve the victory for Redlands.
The Bulldogs took advantage of Chapman turnovers in the first half. The Panthers did not score in the first quarter and Redlands put up five in the second for a 6-2 halftime lead.
The Panthers head out on the road to face Cal Lutheran on Saturday at 11 a.m. but return on Wednesday to take Caltech at 7 p.m.
By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director
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