REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Women's Water Polo team (4-15, 3-3 SCIAC) were able to pull out a 9-8 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) win over Whittier College Saturday morning on senior day as the Bulldogs honored Kaitlynn Pierceall (Beaumont, CA), Sofia Portello (Sonoma, CA), and Courtney Sawin (Tacoma, WA).
The Bulldogs got off to a fast start as they held the Poets to only one goal in the opening eight minutes, while Emma Parker (Yucaipa, CA) scored twice joined by Pierceall who found the back of the net late in the quarter, with Portello and Marlie Potocki (Joliet, Ill.) picking up assists.
Lucia Notaro (Thousand Oaks, CA) made it 4-1 at the 6:52 mark of the second as Parker found her for the score.
Following the first Poet goal in almost eight minutes, Parker scored on a powerplay off another Portello assist as neither team scored the rest of the half moving the score to 5-2 Redlands at the break.
After finishing the half with the final tally, Anika Lundbaek (San Anselmo, CA) started the third with a powerplay goal that came off a Sawin assist only :31 seconds into the quarter as the Bulldogs led 6-2.
Redlands would not score the rest of the quarter, while Whittier put away three unanswered to draw within one, 6-5, with 2:13 remaining.
That third Poet goal was the last of the third quarter. In the fourth Alyssa Sorrell (Highland, CA) and Sawin each scored in the first two minutes as the Bulldogs held an 8-5 advantage.
Similar to when UR had their multi-goal lead in the third, Whittier made another comeback attempt, this time they scored two goals within :31 seconds of each other, making it a one-goal game for the second time.
Then with 2:25 left in the game Pierceall found Parker for the eventual game-winning goal.
On the day Parker scored a game-high four goals, while assisting on another. Pierceall, Portello, and Sawin combined for two goals, five assists, three steals, and two drawn exclusions. In goal Evelyn Teeter (Westminster, CA) made six saves, while playing the whole 32 minutes.
Redlands will go on the road for a match-up in Claremont with No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps next Saturday, March 30 beginning at 11:00 a.m.
