The University of Redlands women's water polo team rallied for an exciting comeback victory over Occidental College on Saturday, as the Bulldogs won in thrilling fashion by a score of 10-8 in overtime during their third Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) contest of the season.
Occidental took an early 2-0 lead before senior center Jaime Nippert (Gresham, OR) scored Redlands' first goal with 4:43 to play in the opening stanza. The Tigers notched two more netters, forcing the Bulldogs to face a three-goal deficit at the 6:22-mark of the second frame.
The Maroon and Gray cut the lead to one on multiple occasions during the second and third periods before finally tying it up with 2:19 remaining in the third. Freshman driver Haley Hollinrake (Redlands, CA) notched her second goal of the contest to make it 7-7 late in the frame.
Redlands nabbed its first lead of the game when senior center Joy Corona (Lake Bluff, IL) capped off a four-goal, third period for the Bulldogs by scoring her second netter at the 1:23-mark.
However, the Tigers refused to go away, evening the score with 59 seconds remaining in the fourth frame to send it to overtime.
In the first half of the extra period, junior driver Moana Tuipulotu (Lahaina, HI) tallied her second goal of the game to put Redlands ahead, 9-8. The Bulldogs secured the victory with 1:09 to play in overtime as Nippert scored her team-leading fourth netter of the contest.
During the overtime period, the Maroon and Gray held the Tigers scoreless, resulting in the thrilling triumph over the No. 2 team in NCAA Division III.
On the day, sophomore goalkeeper Julie Lupfer (San Diego, CA) picked up the win for Redlands, recording eight saves in the process.
The Bulldogs (13-13, 2-1 SCIAC) head to Claremont on Wednesday to face the Athenas of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges at 7 p.m. The game will be played at the Axelrood Pool on the Claremont McKenna College campus.
