The top-seeded University of Redlands men's soccer team faced off against the fourth-seeded Occidental College Tigers in the semifinal of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament on Thursday under the lights at Farquhar Field. Through a high-flying offensive assault that featured a combined 33 shots from the teams, the Bulldogs prevailed in a 2-0 victory that punched their ticket to the SCIAC Postseason Tournament Championship game on Saturday.
The Tigers came out of the gates with a high-energy attack, as they blasted off four shots within the first 12 minutes of action. Bulldog freshman goalkeeper Josh Haskill (Lakewood, CA) had no trouble halting the scoring attempts, as he corralled three saves right off the bat.
Redlands settled more into its game plan and began to apply some pressure as the half progressed. Freshman forward Chase Boone (Beaverton, OR) and freshman midfielder Casey ChubbFertal (Eugene, OR) broke the seal by each blasting off a shot. A successful attempt followed minutes later for ChubbFertal, who unleashed a ball from 20 yards out that zipped past the Occidental goalkeeper with authority, snagging the Bulldogs' 1-0 lead in the 25th minute.
Now trailing, Occidental remained active on offense, creating legitimate scoring chances that led to nine shots in the first half.
But Haskill stepped up with his dominant play between the pipes, corralling five saves after the first 45 minutes of action.
Early in the second stanza, Occidental took advantage of a slow start by the Bulldogs, firing off five shots in the first nine minutes of the frame, including three from junior midfielder Valdair Martins-Lopes (Providence, RI).
But the Maroon and Gray began to kick it into high gear by blasting off four shots from four different players. On the fifth attempt, senior forward Charles Izydorek (Redlands, CA) knocked home an insurance goal after junior midfielder Peter Marsden (Woodside, CA) won a 50-50 ball to facilitate the score with an assist. Haskill served the ball to Marsden on a goal kick, setting up the end-to-end scoring effort.
For Redlands, Haskill remained untouchable between the pipes, as he matched his first-half saves with five more, resulting in 10 stops by the end of the game.
The Bulldog defensive unit of sophomore Tom Elsea (Mission Viejo, CA), senior Nico Johnson (Las Vegas, NV), and sophomore Austin Moore (Las Vegas, NV) were vital pieces to the victory by matching the aggressive play of Occidental.
Overall, the Tigers out-shot the home squad by a 20-13 margin.
Redlands looks forward to hosting the SCIAC Postseason Tournament Championship final against the second-seeded Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens on Saturday, November 8, at 12 noon on Farquhar Field. The winner of that contest will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships.
Fans are reminded that students and employees with current ID from a SCIAC school are admitted for free. Children 12 and under are also free. All others are $5 at the gate. Fans unable to attend the Redlands-Pomona-Pitzer game may follow along via live stats and live streaming at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/redlands/. Per SCIAC policy, fans will be charged a one-time fee of $5 to watch the stream.