The University of Redlands women's lacrosse team opened the 2009 season with a non-conference, home contest against Whittier College and came away with a resounding 18-11 victory over the Poets.

Sophomore midfielder Christy Smith (St. Louis Park, MN) initiated the scoring in the second minute of action and connected off of a free position shot. This was her first of four goals to lead the Bulldogs.

However, Whittier stormed back with two unanswered goals to hold a slight edge with 25:52 to go in the first half.

Redlands' offense then exploded with four consecutive goals, including two in a row by senior midfielder Liza Gray (Centennial, CO). With a 5-2 lead, the Bulldogs never looked back en route to the solid win.

The eventual game-winner came at 18:34 remaining in the second half as senior midfielder Lauren Matta (Holyoke, MA) put away her third goal in a five-minute span.

Between the pipes, sophomore goalkeeper Katrina Hostak (Maple Valley, WA) made 14 saves for Redlands.

The Bulldogs (1-0) head to Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on March 4 for a 7 p.m. game against the Sagehens.