The third-ranked University of Redlands women's water polo team battled it out with the visiting Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Wednesday night but came up short in a 7-9 loss. After No. 1 Pomona-Pitzer broke a five-all tie in the third period, the Bulldogs struggled to recover in their second Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) contest of the season.
Pomona-Pitzer jumped out to a 2-0 lead by scoring twice in the first four minutes.
Redlands rallied to cut the deficit to one when senior center Jaime Nippert (Gresham, OR) found the back of the net at the 1:46-mark of the first frame.
After the teams traded scores, the Sagehens maintained a two-goal lead until the Bulldogs fired off consecutive goals to start the third stanza. Freshman center-defender Haley Hollinrake (Redlands, CA) and junior center-defender Jill Stein (Palm Desert, CA) came up big for the Maroon and Gray, tying the score at five apiece with 5:53 remaining in the period.
However, Pomona-Pitzer answered with two goals of its own, creating a lead that it would not relinquish in the waning minutes of the game.
Nipper finished with a hat trick and senior center Joy Corona (Lake Bluff, IL) added two scores.
Sophomore goalkeeper Julie Lupfer (San Diego, CA) stepped up with 10 stops in the cage.
Redlands (12-13, 1-1 SCIAC) heads to Occidental College on Saturday to face the Tigers in an 11 a.m. SCIAC contest.
