THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.— Lexi Rond scored the game winner as a back-and-forth contest was decided with 32 seconds left as Cal Lutheran women's water polo defeated Chapman 12-11 on Saturday afternoon. In the second game of the day, the Regals fell to Division I opponent, Indiana.
The Regals opened the Tina Finali Memorial Invitational with a conference game against the Panthers. It was the first conference game for each team and featured eight ties and two lead changes.
The game went back-and-forth down the stretch as the Regals found themselves down by one with 5:16 left. Rond scored the final four goals for the Regals, including the game winner.
Cal Lutheran called timeout with just about 45 seconds left in the game. After Rond drew an exclusion in front of the goal, Kaitlin Gardhouse was yelling for a pass. Gardhouse received the pass and dished it right back to Rond as she put the finishing touches on the game.
Rond led the team with five goals and Gardhouse added a hat trick. Gardhouse added two assists and four steals while Elyse Koe had a team-high five steals.
The Regals were amazing in powerplay opportunities and recorded a mark of 9-for-12. The defense for the Regals was a wall in the same situations as they held the Panthers to 1-of-7.
Against Indiana, Rond continued her superb day and tallied another five goals. Kemi Dijkstra provided the defensive spark with three steals and Koe had two more.
The Regals put up four points in the fourth quarter but the Hoosiers were too much in the first three. With the scored tied at 1-1, Indiana scored the next six goals and took a big lead. After a second CLU goal, the Hoosiers scored the next eight and took a 15-2 lead at the half. Indiana kept the pressure on in the second half and won 21-7.
The Regals continue the Tina Finali Memorial Invitational on Saturday with Fresno Pacific at 8:45 a.m., Long Island at 6:45 p.m. and Lindenwood at 8 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 12, CU 11; UI 21, CLU 7
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director
