The University of Redlands women's water polo team jumped into non-conference action on Saturday at the Bulldog Invitational with a game against Division I Cal State Northridge in the afternoon and Division II Concordia University-Irvine for the nightcap. Against two high-powered offenses, the Bulldogs fell 3-17 to the Matadors and 8-18 to the Eagles.
Redlands hopped onto the board first against CSUN with a five-meter penalty goal from senior attacker Hunter Olivier (Indio, CA) at the 5:26-minute mark in the first.
However, the Matadors found their rhythm on a 5-0 run that rolled into the second period. Nonetheless, Olivier repeated her efforts with a power-play goal with 6:56 left in the quarter.
After CSUN scored three more, junior attacker Katelynn Holloman (Wildomar, CA) found the back of the net off an assist from junior defender Jena Suzuki (Wailuku, HI). However, the Matadors scored twice more before the break, sending the Bulldogs into halftime down 3-11.
Unfortunately, CSUN continued to score throughout the second half, handing Redlands a 3-17 loss.
The Maroon and Gray took the pool against Concordia University-Irvine in the nightcap. The game started out similar to the first, as junior attacker Kelly Klish (Glenview, IL) scored the opening goal just over a minute into the game but the Eagles came right back to score four straight.
First-year attacker Ally Feeley (Menlo Park, CA) opened the second quarter with a crafty goal off a nice pass from first-year Katrina Nielsen (Houston, TX). Five minutes later, at the 2:32-minute mark, sophomore attacker Holly Kvanvig (Beaverton, OR) put one through the posts to cut the deficit in half, 3-6 heading into halftime.
Nielsen and Kvanvig teamed up for two goals in the third period and although the fourth saw the most scoring for the Bulldogs off of goals from Holloman, Kvanvig, and junior defender Sarah Draves (Fallbrook, CA), the Eagles offense also ramped up, leaving the Bulldogs with an 8-18 loss after the final buzzer.
The Maroon and Gray (1-2) return to the Thompson Aquatic Center for day two of the Bulldog Invitational on Sunday, February 16 with the opening game against Ottawa (AZ) at 9 a.m. and an afternoon matchup against Toronto at 1:20 p.m.
