The California Lutheran University Regals lacrosse team lost their first game of the season to Whittier College with a final score of 25-1.

First-year midfielder Sydney Shin scored the Regals’ only goal of the game, which was assisted by another first-year, attacker Kendall Fleming. In goal, first-year goalkeeper Bella Bravo made six saves. 

Head Coach Laura McIntyre said that she is looking forward to seeing where the Regals go from here as the season opener gave the team an opportunity to see where they are at.

“I’m excited about tonight even though the score doesn’t necessarily reflect the amount of growth that we’ll have as a team from this, but we gotta start somewhere,” McIntyre said. 

Junior defender Mia Deck was also optimistic following the game, which saw six first-years start their first National Collegiate Athletic Association game. 

“We have a lot of fresh faces on the field and so I think it was, if anything, a good learning experience for everyone and exciting for the freshmen who had their NCAA debut,” Deck said. 

Whittier was on the front foot for the entirety of the game, taking 36 shots as opposed to Cal Lutheran’s four. The Poets scored 11 goals before the Regals scored their only goal of the game. 

According to CLUSports.com, “Shin, first-year midfielder Anna Ripka, and junior attacking-midfielder Giselle Bonilla had two draw controls each.” A draw control is when a player controls the ball or creates an opportunity to play following a draw. 

“I’m not too disappointed with the loss. It’s not that we were expecting it, we just knew there was a lot we could learn from it,” first-year defender Leila Bauwens said. 

The Regals continue to be a building team as this is only their second full season since becoming an official NCAA sport. Their 2020 and 2021 seasons were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Bauwens said that the team is very cohesive and that their greatest strength is being able to listen to each other calmly and learn from each other. 

“Our team chemistry is a huge strength right now, and their optimism–they really dig in and they cheer each other on. They dig in every day and they really work hard to make sure that when we’re critiquing each other, we’re doing it in a positive way,” McIntyre said. 

 Moving forward, the Regals will remain focused on relying on one another as they continue working on establishing themselves as a team.

“I think our biggest goal is just taking those mistakes and improving them every game,” Deck said. “I think it’s just really crucial that we continue working as a team, as a unit, and just getting better every day and pushing each other on and off the field too.”  

The Regals’ next home game is at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 4 against Chatham University