The Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) women’s lacrosse team waged a war against the Division I UCLA Bruins in an unseasonably hot preseason opener on Jan. 27, pushing past regulation time in a thrilling game, but ultimately suffered a 12-11 defeat in sudden death overtime.
The Hens were immediately challenged by the older and faster-paced UCLA side. Throughout the first half, goalie Ruby Loesch PZ ’26 was continuously pushed by their fast breaks. However, after ceding goals early, P-P quickly found their footing, going on a scoring run and earning the lead.
“I felt like we didn’t come out super strong,” River Buechner PO ’26 said. “[So] watching us get up by a couple of goals was exciting and every time Ruby stopped a shot I was thrilled for her.”
First-years Audrey Jacklyn PZ ’27 and Grace Tighe PZ ’27 played a big role in piling on the pressure, breaking into the inner circle in the first half.
“The highlight for me was watching some of the [first-years] come out and just do so well,” Buechner said. “I remember Grace scored and I was just so excited for her.”
This scoring run led to a stable lead thanks to the offensive discipline of veteran Fiona Lewis PO ’25, who led the team with 72 goals in the 2023 season. Lewis matched the fast breaks and off-ball movement of UCLA and allowed the Hens to find their footing and hold off the Bruins. Nonetheless, the Hens were unable to dominate the first half. However, unsatisfied with trading the lead back and forth, P-P decided they needed to make some changes.
“At halftime we talked about moving on offense, which definitely helped us put more balls in the net and we also switched to man[-to-man] defense,” Buechner said. “It really helped reduce the cutters they were scoring on.”
The second half saw the Hens maintain a steady lead, substituting players frequently, allowing more first-years and underclassmen to see the pitch but continuing to outrun the Bruins’ side. That was until the fourth quarter, where UCLA found the fight to rally, taking advantage of man-down situations and equalizing the score.
This drama climaxed when Jacklyn took a hard hit while cutting into the Bruins box and earned a penalty. With 13 seconds left on the clock, Jacklyn was one-on-one with the DI keeper in the first collegiate game of her career.
Jacklyn faked right, aiming a shot at the top right corner but sending the ball careening off of the goalposts.
“I thought we were going to win off of that,” Buechner said. “But those pipes [the goal posts] were killing us. I know it’s great, we’re literally hitting the actual goal, but they’re just not going in.”
Tied at 11-11 going into sudden death, the Bruins led two succinct attacks on P-P’s goal, challenging Loesch to make a diving save the first time, but ended the game efficiently with a deadly cut into the arc.
Jacklyn reflected on what her team needs to improve on going forward.
“We need to adjust and get used to the man-up man-down scenarios and perfect our zone defense,” Jacklyn said. “I think UCLA was able to crack our zone a little and seal pretty well on cuts.”
The Hens, however, were not flustered and said they were grateful for the chance to play against such tight competition. Buechner also noted that this game gave P-P the opportunity to practice with a league-wide rule change introduced this season.
In an effort to decrease the frequency of injuries, the NCAA board introduced a new form of punishment with the green card. This green card is instituted in a similar way to a penalty in hockey, removing players from the game for one minute after being called for a major foul, such as tripping or illegal use of the stick.
“The green card is very new and kind of annoying,” Buechner said. “I’m not going to lie. It’s annoying to have to sit down for a while on those minor fouls, like tripping, which sometimes just happens.”
This new rule brings big changes to the mechanics of the game, requiring teams across the NCAA to work on optimizing power plays and perfecting new strategies for defending with one less player.
“We’re a very young team, which we knew,” Shoshi Henderson PO ’25 said. “[We] graduated a lot of seniors last year … as an upperclassman, it’s all about just getting adjusted, building chemistry with them and looking forward.”
The Sagehens’ preseason continues with a roadtrip to challenge another DI foe, the San Diego State Aztecs, on Feb. 3.
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