California Lutheran University Regal’s lacrosse team made history playing their first game in program history against the University of Redlands as their introduction into the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
“As our first game ever in history, we really got a feel for how it’s going to be for the rest of the season and how we can improve on defense as well as on offense. We know that we need to communicate,” sophomore goalie Carly Boccia said.
Cal Lutheran managed to get 6 shots on goal, while Redlands managed to get 40. Junior goalie Cameron Mendez earned 11 saves during the match and did not quit even though Redlands kept attacking the goal.
The result of the game was not in favor of the Regals as they suffered defeat with a score 21-1.
Since it is only the first game of the season, the Regals are looking forward to improving with each game, Boccia said.
“I think this is the foundation for the years to come. We’re learning, everybody’s new, and we’re trying to get better each day and we’ve already shown that through our warm-ups today,” sophomore midfield defender Sloan Sanders said.
With 6 minutes left in the first half, Boccia scored the first goal in history for Regals lacrosse.
“It felt pretty good. It felt like all the hard practices really paid off and my team was there and I think it boosted us a little bit, and made us believe we could do it,” Boccia said. “It’s not impossible, even though we thought it was for a second. They doubted me, and I proved them wrong and I scored.”
At the end of the first half, Cal Lutheran trailed 11-1, and the Bulldogs outscored the Regals 10-0 in the second half.
Prior to the match, Head Coach Laura McIntyre spoke about the message going into the match.
“Before the game, we decided what our ‘C’ was for the game, which was calm. We needed to stay calm and be aggressive but not too aggressive where we would start making mistakes,” Boccia said.
The Regals are ready to continue building their team chemistry both on and off the field, Sanders said.
Along with building team chemistry, “being there for each other” is a common theme for the season.
“We really want to set the tone for seasons to come. We want to win, but when we lose we are still a team, and we will be there for each other,” Boccia said.
The Regals committed 22 turnovers in the match, while the Bulldogs only recorded 6.
The referees for the match had to stop the match multiple times because of foul calls. The Regals committed 22 fouls while the Bulldogs committed 27.
The next game for the Regals is on Saturday, Feb. 29 at Whittier College at 11 a.m.