PASADENA, Calif. - The match-up between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds at the 2013 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Women's Water Polo Tournament would determine the path for the remainder of the weekend. Unfortunately, Cal Lutheran came up on the short end of a double overtime thriller in which the Regals fell 9-8 to Redlands, squashing any title hopes the Violet and Gold had.
When the two teams met on April 13 it was the home CLU squad that came-from-behind for a 10-8 victory in a must-win game. Today, with everything on the line, the pesky Regals again erased an early deficit in another game that was never more than two goals and forced an overtime period, but it was the Bulldogs who prevailed.
UR got out to a 3-1 lead after the opening frame, but Cal Lutheran chipped away, outscoring the Redlands 3-2 in the second stanza to take the momentum and pull within one at 5-4 going into the intermission. After surrendering a goal early in the third period, the Regals responded with two unanswered goals to knot the teams at 6-6 going into the final quarter.
Each team found the back of the net late in the fourth to force the extra sessions as the teams were locked at 7-7 after regulation.
The first three minute overtime saw the teams exchange goals. During the second OT, the Bulldogs turned to Jill Stein for the game-winner with 1:41 left on the clock, stripping of any chance of earning a SCIAC title in 2013.
Five players scored with Kehau Ai, Adrienne Ingalla and Morgan McCardell each tallying a pair and Jane Galluzzi and Shannon Streeter chipping in with one apiece. Jordan Card did not find the back of the net, but was responsible for two assists and four drawn ejections.
Both Galluzzi and McCardell came up with four steals and Kylee Tomasetti nabbed a pair while blocking six shots in front of the CLU cage during the 30 minutes of action.
Bulldog goalie Julie Lupfer made 14 saves, including four in OT.
Cal Lutheran (11-15, 5-4 SCIAC) will play La Verne (12-23, 2-9) on Saturday, April 28 at 5:30 p.m. at Pasadena City College.
Box Score: UR 9, CLU 8 - 2OT
Tournament Central: 2013 Women's Water Polo SCIAC Championships
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