REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Women's Water Polo team (0-3) played twice at their Och Tamale Invitational Friday at the Thompson Aquatic Center (TAC) where they took on a pair of higher division teams in Fresno Pacific University (FPU) and Azusa Pacific University (APU) inside the Thompson Aquatic Center.
Game 1 (Fresno Pacific University; L, 17-8)
The Bulldogs fell behind 6-0 early before Teagan May (Carlsbad, CA) helped get the U of R on the scoreboard finding Katie Raber (Portland, OR) for the first connection. Alyssa Sorrell (Highland, CA) then made it two in-a-row with a goal with only :12 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
Now trailing 9-2, Redlands ended the first half on a 3-1 run thanks to goals from May, Aubrey Stevenson (Calimesa, CA), and Aubree Nabors (Conroe, TX) with Kylie Brown (Lake Oswego, OR) getting an assist on May's powerplay goal.
The Bulldogs' final three goals of the game came in the second half as Kiera Federline (Ashland, OR), Nabors, and Raber were able to beat the Sunbird keeper.
Along with the offense, May had two steals as did Ainsley Killian (Beaverton, OR) who also added two drawn exclusions. Sofia Mather (Riverside, CA) and Natalie Abril (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) split the 32 minutes in goal with Mather collecting six saves and Abril two.
Game 2 (Azusa Pacific University; L, 20-4)
The Cougars' lead was 8-0 before Abril found Stevenson for a late, buzzer-beating goal to end the first quarter.
Following a scoreless second, Sorrell and Nabors went back-to-back in the first two minutes of the third. The early offensive success to start the second half was short lived though as Marlie Potocki's (Joliet, Ill.) goal with seven seconds remaining in the game was the next tally.
Nabors and Sorrell each finished with two points. They also drew five total exclusions. Abril had three saves and an assist in goal, while Mather came on to make seven stops.
Redlands hosts the final day of the Och Tamale Invitational on Saturday, February 7 with their two games coming at 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. against Cal State Monterey Bay and Ca State Fullerton.
