Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
WHITTIER, Calif. – The Whittier College Women's Lacrosse team proved a tough test for the Chapman University Panthers Wednesday evening as they put together a big second half before falling 13-12 at Memorial Stadium.
After a strong opener beating Div. II Westminster 16-13, the Purple & Gold continued where they left off in their first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) match-up pouring in 12 goals on 24 shots, which included nine coming in the second half.
"We were really proud of the game that we played tonight," explained Head Coach Trish Bonagura. "We came out a little flat then found ourselves playing catch-up. That didn't stop the girls from fighting and working until the last whistle. We played together as a team and they had fun."
Whittier fell behind early 4-2 before seeing themselves trail 7-3 at the break. Three of the Panthers goals came on free-position shots.
In the second half, Stacey Zuppa added another free position goal for CU that moved the score to 8-3 but the momentum would swing into the Poets favor quickly covering the next 15 minutes, where Whittier went on a 6-1 run that pulled the game even at 9-9.
During the run, freshman Lauren Tudor (Bellevue, WA) added three goals, sophomore Angelina Cuevas (Long Beach, Calif.) chipped in with two, and Gabby Boller (Howell, NJ) would register one that helped pull the Purple & Gold back into the game.
Gretchen Rodenberger and Brooke Martini would add another two free position goals soon after that put CU back in front and despite three more goals coming from Cuevas, with two being in the last 2:15 the Panthers managed to keep control as they held on for the one goal victory.
Cuevas had a breakout game with six goals and an assist. She also had six groundballs, and two caused turnovers. Tudor had four goals, three draw controls, and a groundball, while Boller contributed two goals, an assist, and two groundballs.
Madison Topping (El Dorado, Calif.) played all 60:00 in goal finishing with eight saves against 21 shots. For the game, Whittier controlled draw controls 17-10, was 9-10 on clear attempts, and was tied on shots with Chapman 24-24.
Whittier travels now to Redlands this Saturday, February 27 as they take on the Bulldogs beginning at 7:00pm.
