REDLANDS, Calif. – Aubree Nabors tied the game with 1:30 remaining in overtime before Teagan May won it in sudden death as the University of Redlands women's water polo team (4-14, 2-4) defeated Occidental College, 10-9, Saturday morning at the Thompson Aquatic Center (TAC).
Marlie Potocki was the lone goal scorer for the Bulldogs for the first seven minutes before Lucia Notaro picked up her second assist, finding Brooklyn Green to make it a 3-2 game in the final minute of the first.
Redlands defense, though, shut out Occidental in the second quarter while their offense tallied four goals for a 6-4 lead at the break. Aubrey Stevenson, Notaro twice, and Gianna Ratto had the four Bulldogs goals with Kiera Federline, Natalie Abril, and Ainsley Killian all picking up their first assists of the game.
Following a scoreless first two minutes of the third quarter, the two sides went back-and-forth with the Bulldogs still in front, 8-6, with 31 second to go. Killian and Green had the two goals for Redlands.
Occidental, however, made it a one-goal game in the final 18 seconds of the third before shutting out Redlands in the fourth which allowed their lone goal at the 2:37 mark to send the two teams into overtime tied at eight.
The Tigers were the first to score in the first three-minute overtime period, but midway through the second overtime Nabors saved the Bulldogs, tying the game at nine with 90 seconds remaining.
Following the two required three-minute overtime periods, the two sides went into sudden death where the first goal ends the game.
Nabors had a field block before Sofia Mather made a save and set up the Bulldogs with possession coming out of a timeout with 43 seconds on the clock.
14 seconds later Stevenson found May open who beat the Tiger keeper to win it 29 seconds before a second sudden death period.
Mather made 15 saves while playing 24 minutes and 31 seconds. Abril had four saves in 16 minutes. Notaro and Green each had two-goal games. Notaro added three assists for a total of five points.
Redlands goes back on the road for a game at University of La Verne on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.
