THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Cal Lutheran women's water polo took home the SCIAC Postseason Tournament Championship on Sunday afternoon at home with an 11-6 victory over the Redlands Bulldogs.

With the conference victory, the Regals get an at-large berth to the NCAA national championship tournament. Lexi Rond was named the tournament most valuable player.

It is the second straight tournament championship for the Regals. No champion was crowned in 2020.

The game was exciting from the start as the first goal on the day was a five meter from Bethany Metcalfe. She went on to have two more goals, leading the team with three.

Elyse Koe had a buzzer beating goal at the end of the first quarter to put the Regals up 4-1. The Purple and Gold continued this momentum throughout the rest of the game. Koe had one more goal on the day as well as two assists and two draw exclusions.

Kemi Dijkstra and Rond each added two goals and Rond led the team with five draw exclusions.

Kaitlin Gardhouse was strong on the offensive side with four assists and one goal, as well as two steals at the other end of the water. The Regals had a strong first half in which eight of their goals came from, one of which came right at the end of the half from Gardhouse. It ended a string three goals in a row from Redlands and put the Regals back at a comfortable lead of 8-5 at halftime.

Izzy De Souza was thrilling to watch in goal as she made some difficult saves and tallied 15 on the day. The defense was on her side as together, they held the Bulldogs to just two goals in the entire second half.

The Regals controlled the game from start to finish and defeated Redlands 11-6.

Box Score: CLU 11, UR 6
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Release by Mara Powner, Sports Information Assistant; Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director