REDLANDS, Calif. — Cal Lutheran women's water polo moved closer to a SCIAC Tournament berth as they knocked off the Redlands Bulldogs 8-6 on Wednesday night.
It was a battle as the No. 3 team in the standings, the Regals, went to No. 5, Redlands, with one game separating them. The No. 4 team, La Verne, was just half a game back. With Cal Lutheran picking up the big win, and La Verne and Redlands losing, the Regals are now in the driver's seat for the No. 3 spot.
The Regals have won three games in a row and improved to 7-3 in conference and 11-13 overall. La Verne is in the fourth spot at 5-4, Redlands is 6-5, and Whittier is 5-5. Cal Lutheran has two games left in the regular season.
Katie Knight led the way with a hat trick and Kemi Dijkstra and Jacsen Donohue added two goals each. Bethany Metcalfe had one goal and one assist, and Kaitlin Gardhouse added another assist.
Izzy De Souza was in the cage and got the win. She recorded 12 saves and had one steal. Dijkstra and Tori Portillo had two steals each and three more Regals had one each.
Redlands scored the first goal of the game and the Regals answered midway through the first quarter. Cal Lutheran made it a 3-1 lead after back-to-back goals, with the second goal coming as the first quarter expired. The Regals scored the first goal of the second quarter and then the defenses kicked in. Both teams scored a goal in the final 30 seconds as Cal Lutheran had a 5-2 lead at the half.
The Bulldogs opened the third quarter with two straight goals and cut the lead to one. It was 5-4 as the game headed to the fourth. This time, the Regals flipped the script, scoring the first two goals in the quarter and took a 7-4 lead. Cal Lutheran kept the lead the rest of the game and picked up a huge win in the conference standings.
The Regals continue the season on the road. Cal Lutheran is at Whittier on Sunday with the game set for 11 a.m.
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