THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Women's Water Polo team (1-5) opened the Tina Finali Invite Saturday morning with a dominant 15-1 win over Wheaton College (Mass.) before losing 16-6 to Concordia University Irvine (CUI).
Game 1 (Wheaton College; W, 15-1)
The Bulldogs jumped in front early with a 5-0 first quarter that included goals from Kiera Federline (Ashland, OR), Alyssa Sorrell (Highland, CA), Ainsley Killian (Beaverton, OR), Teagan May (Carlsbad, CA), and Gianna Ratto (Santa Rosa, CA).
The defense completed the first half shutout and the offense continued to roll as Aubree Nabors (Conroe, TX) scored twice followed by Nora Jackson (Palatine, Ill.) tallying her first, while Emberly De La Vega (Nipomo, CA) and Sofia Mather (Riverside, CA) each had assists.
In the third quarter Aubrey Stevenson (Calimesa, CA) set up May and Killian for goals within :47 seconds of each other before finding Sorrell inside for a 13-0 U of R lead.
The Lyons scored the final goal of the third before Stevenson and May helped the Bulldogs finish things off with another two goals in the fourth.
Killian led the way with three goals and three assists. May, Federline, and Stevenson also added four points each. Lucia Notaro (Ventura, CA) had two goals and two assists, while picking up a joint game high four steals. In goal Mather made five saves with no goals allowed before Elena Sanchez Alcaraz (Tijuana, Mexico) made seven saves in the second half.
Game 2 (Concordia University Irvine; L, 16-6)
In their final game of the day the Bulldogs played their sixth game against a higher division opponent on the season going up against the Golden Eagles of Concordia University Irvine. They found themselves down 7-0 early in the second quarter before Nabors converted on a five-meter penalty to put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard. Then with a second remaining in the second period Mather scored on a 7-on-6 situation to end the first half trailing 11-2.
Redlands' defense allowed only five goals in the second half, including only one in the fourth quarter. Then on the other end of the pool Notaro, Sorrell and Natalie Abril (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) all scored to end the game on a 3-0 run.
Nabors had a game-high three steals along with her goal. Notaro had a brace, drew an exclusion, and recorded a steal. Mather made four saves and scored in the first half before Abril took over and made six saves with a goal as well.
The Bulldogs begin Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play next Saturday, February 21 at 11:00 a.m. when they take on Chapman University down in Orange.
