The University of Redlands women's lacrosse team took to the road for a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown at Whittier College on Wednesday evening.  Amidst a hard-fought and physical match, the Bulldogs prevailed by a score of 11-5 to complete the season sweep of the Poets.

Junior midfielder Lacey Bjorndal (Sherwood, OR) initiated the Redlands offense by converting a free-position shot with 27:29 remaining in the first half.

After the teams traded possessions over the next 10 minutes, Whittier eventually answered with a successful free-position shot of its own to tie it up.

A few minutes later, freshman midfielder Sadie Pickering (Tacoma, WA) forced a Poet turnover before snagging the subsequent ground ball.  She quickly set up her own score on a give-and-go play with Bjorndal for Redlands' 2-1 advantage.

The defensive battled continued, as each team did its best to minimize the other's offensive opportunities.  At the 5:39-mark, senior attack player Dulce Moll (Mercer Island, WA) found an open freshman attack player Charly Walter (Bethesda, MD) to extend the Bulldogs' lead.

Nonetheless, the Poets came right back by taking the ensuing draw control to the Maroon and Gray's net to cut the deficit in half.

But the Bulldogs finished strong in the final 1:25 of the first half by uncorking three-straight goals for a 6-2 lead at the midway point of the game.  First, Moll bookended the scoring spurt by firing off the first goal before supplying the assist on the final one.  In addition, sophomore attack player Kelsey Ruhl (Seattle, WA), sophomore midfielder Hanna Morford (West Linn, OR), and Pickering each made a direct contribution to these three netters.

Although the Poets opened the second stanza on a 3-1 run, the Bulldogs answered with a four-goal offensive outburst to pull ahead for the win.  Moll provided her second goal of the night, while Bjorndal unleashed back-to-back scores in less than a minute.  Finally, Redlands benefitted from a Moll-Pickering combination to cap off the scoring.

While keeping Whittier off the board during this 10-minute stretch, junior goalkeeper Quinn Egan (Greenwood Village, CO) stepped up with three of her 11 saves. 

In addition, she played an integral part in the team's perfect 15-for-15 showing in clears by the final whistle. 

Junior defender Jacquelyn Archey (Sammamish, WA) and freshman defender Paige Koenig (Centennial, CO) provided great defensive support for Egan by recording two caused turnovers apiece.

Aside from scoring, Pickering and Morford accounted for seven of the Bulldogs' 11 draw controls. 

Redlands (8-5, 3-4 SCIAC) heads to Chapman University on Saturday, April 15, for a 7 p.m. match against the Panthers.