The University of Redlands women's water polo team broke a six-all halftime tie to prevail by a score of 13-10 over the visiting Regals of Cal Lutheran University on Saturday, earning the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship Tournament.
After the teams traded scores through the first two periods, the Bulldogs rattled off three consecutive goals during the subsequent frame, providing the necessary edge over Cal Lutheran. Senior center Jaime Nippert (Gresham, OR) initiated this spurt with a successful penalty shot at the 7:39-mark. Freshman center-defender Hannah Ongman (Flossmoor, IL) and junior center-defender Jill Stein (Palm Desert, CA) also found the back of the net during the team's third-period hat trick, making it a 9-6 game with one stanza to go.
View one of Stein's goals here.
Although the Regals rallied back to within one at 9-10, the Bulldogs answered with a 3-1 run to finish out the game. Along with Nippert and Stein, junior driver Moana Tuipulotu (Lahaina, HI) notched a goal for the Bulldogs in the final minutes.
Prior to the start of the contest, Redlands honored its three seniors who were competing at the Thompson Aquatic Center for the final time. Nippert wrapped up her home career with five goals on the day, while senior driver Casey Sripramong (Glendale, CA) added two and senior center Joy Corona (Lake Bluff, IL) tossed in one.
Sophomore goalkeeper Julie Lupfer (San Diego, CA) patrolled the Redlands cage by making six saves.
With today's win, the Bulldogs (18-14, 6-1 SCIAC) enter the SCIAC Championship Tournament as the No. 2 seed and face host Whittier College in the first round on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
