While hosting some of Friday's games of the Lancer Invitational No. 2, the University of Redlands women's water polo team put together a solid outing with an 11-9 victory over Concordia University – Irvine and a two-goal loss to the Virginia Military Institute.
In the Bulldogs' first competition of the day, the team battled through a back-and-forth contest with the Eagles of Concordia. The visitors led six times through the first three periods, forcing the Maroon and Gray to find an answer every time.
Finally, Redlands nabbed its first advantage of the game at 7-6 late in the third frame when senior center Jaci Cochrane (San Bernardino, CA) registered her fourth goal of the day.
However, the Eagles quickly responded, sending the game into the final frame with a knotted score at seven apiece.
During the last eight minutes, the Bulldogs created a two-goal lead for the first time of the contest at 9-7. Sophomore drivers Taylor Christie (Anaheim, CA) and Meg Claypool (Portland, OR) fired off consecutive netters for the Maroon and Gray, giving their team the slight edge with 5:08 left to play.
After a Concordia timeout, the Eagles pulled within one less than a minute later.
But Redlands halted the comeback when freshman driver Grace Cochran (Danville, CA) found the back of the net at the 3:34-mark of the stanza to make it 10-8.
The next three minutes provided a strong defensive effort by both teams, but Cochrane converted an insurance goal with 32 seconds remaining in the game to put the Bulldogs up by a score of 11-8.
Although the Eagles found the back of the net once more at the buzzer, the Maroon and Gray successfully notched their fourth win of the season.
Cochrane finished with a team-high five goals for the Maroon and Gray, while Christie unleashed a pair of netters. In addition to Claypool and Cochran, junior center-defender Deandra Van Houten (Huntington Beach, CA) also scored once for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs returned to action for an evening match against the Virginia Military Institute to cap off a busy day. After trailing for most of the game, the Bulldogs clawed their way back to even the score at five apiece with less than two minutes to go in the third frame.
However the Keydets fired off two straight goals to create a lead that held up through the end of the game, resulting in the 9-11 loss for the Maroon and Gray.
Cochrane continued to impress with her second five-goal performance of the day, while Christie tossed in a pair of netters once again. Freshman center Madison Andres (Princeton, NJ) and VanHouten accounted for the Bulldogs' remaining scores.
Redlands (4-10) heads to Cal Baptist University for Saturday's portion of the Lancer Invite No. 2, facing St. Francis College (NY) at 9 a.m. The Bulldogs then take on familiar foe, the University of La Verne, at 6:20 p.m.
