After fighting
back from an 8-7 halftime deficit, the Pomona-Pitzer women’s lacrosse team
(12-3, 9-1 SCIAC) defeated the University of Redlands (10-7, 6-5 SCIAC) by a
final score of 14-9. With the win in their regular season finale, the Sagehens are riding a seven-game win streak heading into their SCIAC semifinal rematch
against Redlands.
The first 15
minutes of the game on Saturday began slowly as P-P and Redlands traded two
goals apiece. Attacker Hannah Christenson PO ’17 found the back of the net for
the Hens’ first two goals, each assisted by fellow attacker Aubrey Douglass PZ
’16.
However, the story of the first half was Redlands’ Stephanie Garrett, who
scored six goals in the first half to put the Bulldogs up 8-7 going into
halftime. Christenson kept the Saghens close, however, adding four first-half
goals of her own.
Attacker Sallie
Marx PO ’18 began the second half with an unassisted goal for her second of the
day. With the game tied 8-8, Redlands scored a goal to go up by one with 26
minutes left. However, the stellar Sagehen defense, led by senior defenders Zoe
Brown PZ ’15, Brenna Gormally PO ’15, Alexa Sarussi PO ’15 and Annie Schatz PZ
’15, did not allow another Redlands goal for the rest of the game.
P-P scored five unanswered goals in the final 25 minutes to take the game by a final score of
14-9. Christenson led the Sagehen attack with five goals, and Marx finished with
a hat trick. Douglass and midfielder Katie Savino PO ’16 both added a goal and
three assists to spur the potent Sagehen offense.
Even with the standout individual performances, the Sagehens acknowledge that it takes the entire
team to have a successful game and season.
“Ally
[McLaughlin PO ’16] has been really key on draw controls and Aubrey has
picked up a ton of ground balls all over the field in our last few games,”
Sarussi said. “But every single person on the field really makes a
contribution to our performance and everyone has grown so much throughout the
season.”
With the win,
P-P secures the No. 1 seed in the SCIAC playoffs, winning the conference
with a 9-1 record.
“It feels great
to finish the regular season the way that we did, and honestly, it just feels
right,” Sarussi said.
The Hens will
face Redlands in a rematch of last Saturday’s game in the SCIAC semifinals
April 25 at home. Although this is a semifinal game, a win for the Sagehens
would allow them to clinch the SCIAC Championships as they would accrue enough
points to win the SCIAC.
Despite beating
Redlands twice, the semifinal game will be a tough match for P-P. In
their first game against the Bulldogs, the Sagehens won in a narrow 10-9 match,
and they were behind in the first half of the rematch last Saturday. Knowing that it will be a challenge, the Sagehens are prepared to try and
win their first SCIAC Championship in program history.
“Redlands always
puts up a good fight, but I think we kind of have them figured out and are
ready to dominate on Saturday,” Sarussi said. “We’re really looking to clinch
our first-ever SCIAC title.”