The top-seeded University of Redlands men's soccer team hosted the fourth-seeded Occidental College Tigers in a semifinal contest of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament on a chilly Wednesday night under the lights at Farquhar Field. Despite facing an early-game deficit, the Bulldogs lit up the pitch with a three-score showing in the second half to haul in a 3-1 victory and punch their ticket to the SCIAC Postseason Tournament championship game.
Early on, the Bulldogs struggled to stay true to their game plan, as the Tigers notched the first score of the game in the sixth minute and forced the Bulldogs to play catch-up. Occidental capitalized on sophomore defender Elijah Remy's short corner kick that allowed a longer cross by senior midfielder Michael Tonetti, who found senior midfielder Daniel Lawson for the header-goal.
Occidental continued to pressure offensively with its quick-footed style of play, earning multiple chances but to no avail.
Redlands settled down in the latter part of the stanza by making the necessary adjustments to create offensive opportunities of its own.
Despite trailing to start the second half, the Maroon and Gray answered back with authority. Just four minutes into the action, sophomore midfielder Casey ChubbFertal (Eugene, OR) took a throw-in near the corner and located junior defender Colin Zaccagnio (Phoenix, AZ) in the box as he rose for a header and banged in the equalizer.
With the score knotted up, the Bulldogs continued to work well with one another by successfully stringing together quality combinations and counters, forcing the Tigers to become out of sync.
Just three minutes after entering the game, junior forward Matt Speegle (Castro Valley, CA) rose to the occasion when it counted the most by corralling a loose ball off of a failed Occidental clear and slotted it past the goalkeeper near post for the Bulldogs' 2-1 lead.
As the game progressed, the defensive unit of junior Tom Elsea (Mission Viejo, CA), sophomore Keoni Yates (Kailua-Kona, HI), junior Austin Moore (Las Vegas, NV), and Zaccagnio stepped up to force the Tigers into tough situations. Junior midfielder Isaac Bogart (Lyden, WA) and freshman midfielder Jesus Avalos (La Quinta, CA) both successfully contributed to the Bulldogs' strong second-half showing as well.
In the 76th minute, the Maroon and Gray earned a corner kick, which was taken by sophomore midfielder Cody Dunham (Fountain Hills, AZ). During the corner, sophomore forward Chase Boone (Beaverton, OR) drew a foul in the box to set up a penalty kick. Freshman forward Kayvon Parsa (West Hills, CA) nailed home the penalty kick to seal the 3-1 victory.
Sophomore goalkeeper Josh Haskill (Lakewood, CA) earned his 10th win of the season while also making one diving save.
Sophomore forward Alexander Knox (Kirkland, WA) led the offensive charge with five shots, while Parsa backed him with four.
With the win, the top-seeded Bulldogs have earned the right to host the SCIAC Postseason Tournament championship game, which will take place on Saturday, November 7, against the third-seeded University of La Verne Leopards, who upset the Chapman University Panthers in a 1-0 decision earlier today. Saturday's game time will be announced late Thursday.