California Lutheran University Regals lacrosse team fell to the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens 1-23. The Sagehens started the game strong as they managed to score 11 times in the first quarter. The Regals held stronger in the second quarter, but the visitors scored four more times. 

“I think we did some really good things, we made some crucial mistakes that we didn’t bounce back from as quickly as we needed to, but we made good adjustments and then we make new mistakes the next time,” Head Coach Laura McIntyre said. 

The Regals continued to improve as the game went on, allowing the Sagehens to score twice in the third quarter and managing to get on the board as first-year midfielder Josie Oparanaku scored Cal Lutheran’s one and only goal. The Sagehens stepped up in the final quarter, scoring six more times to take the game. 

“It gave us a good smile, like it cheered us up to think other people can also score against them,” Oparanaku said. 

Even though the game ended in a loss, McIntyre was proud of the Regals for managing to hold their own for most of the game against a team as strong as Pomona-Pitzer’s, who stand at No.1 in the region for Division III, according to the rankings. 

“It was good, it was a tough game. Pomona is the strongest team in the conference by a significant margin and I expect them to do really well against our opponents this spring…But they’re a tough, tough team and I think we held our own,” McIntyre said.

First-year goalie Bella Bravo made 13 saves, the third most she had in a game this season. 

“It was tough. I mean, shots were coming, but I think my defense is definitely doing much better and we’re getting better together every day and working together as a unit,” Bravo said. 

McIntyre said she wanted the players to focus on the brighter aspects of the game and what they were doing well.

“I was excited to see our adjustments and transition, kind of using each other to use a trail pass and then swing it forward and trying to find some things, and we handled pressure better on the attack end, which is exciting,” McIntyre said.

McIntyre outlined the goals for the team moving forward. 

“I want us to continue to improve handling some more pressure and really making sure that we are working on our transition game,” McIntyre said. “So getting our attackers and defenders away from the opponent so that way we’re getting some open cuts so we can move the ball from our defensive end clearly to our attacking end.”

Despite the loss bringing the Regals’ overall record to 0-6 for the season, McIntyre said that the girls are improving and showing a lot of heart.

“It’s the effort of this group that impresses me every single day and they fight every moment of every game and there’s moments that it’s hard to do that for sure, but they definitely stick together and keeping digging in. So it’s a really proud moment for me as a coach,” McIntyre said.

The Regals’ next home game will be against the Whitworth Pirates on Thursday, March 30, at 7 p.m.