The University of Redlands women's water polo team surged out to an early 5-2 lead against the visiting Leopards of the University of La Verne and never looked back en route to a solid 14-6 victory on Wednesday in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action. The Bulldogs gained a well-balanced scoring attack with six players finding the back of the net at least once, four of whom provided a multi-goal effort.
Redlands quickly took the lead at 2-0 when junior center-defender Jill Stein (Palm Desert, CA) and freshman center-defender Haley Hollinrake (Redlands, CA) fired off back-to-back goals within the first three minutes of action. Senior center Joy Corona (Lake Bluff, IL) finished off the opening stanza with a trio of consecutive goals for the Bulldogs.
The Maroon and Gray won the second quarter by a 3-2 margin but then held the Leopards scoreless in the third frame, making it an 11-4 game with eight minutes to go.
The final period included two of senior center Jaime Nippert's (Gresham, OR) four goals as the Bulldogs captured their fifth victory of the conference campaign.
Corona finished with four goals as well, while Hollinrake and Stein supplied two apiece. Freshman center-defender Hannah Ongman (Flossmoor, IL) and junior driver Moana Tuipulotu (Lahaina, HI) rounded out the scorers with one each.
Sophomore goalkeeper Julie Lupfer (San Diego, CA) patrolled the Redlands cage for most of the game, racking up five saves. Freshman goalkeeper Grace Trilla (Western Springs, IL) preserved the win by making one stop in the final minutes.
Redlands (17-14, 5-1 SCIAC) looks forward to Senior Day on Saturday at 11 a.m. when it hosts Cal Lutheran University in the final home game of the 2012 season.
