No. 3 Whittier College at No. 2 Redlands Bulldogs
Wednesday, November 6, at 7 p.m.
The road to Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) supremacy begins with the Postseason Men's Soccer Tournament semifinals on Wednesday, November 6. The No. 2 University of Redlands hosts No. 3 Whittier College on Farquhar Field at 7 p.m., while No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges welcomes No. 4 Occidental College to a 7 p.m. tilt.
Admission is free for any students or employees with a current SCIAC ID. General admission costs $10, while senior citizens, 55 and over, and military personnel with ID are $5. Children under 12 receive free admission.
The Bulldogs have shown drastic improvement as the season progressed to put them in the position to host the SCIAC Postseason Tournament Semifinal with a 9-4-3 overall record and an 8-2-2 SCIAC mark. Despite opening SCIAC action with a pair of losses, including a 0-1 defeat against Whittier on September 1, the Bulldogs showed resilience and evolved into one of the top teams in the SCIAC. Redlands ended the regular season leading the conference in goals (33), assists (27), and shot percentage (.146).
The loss to the Poets proved to be the last that the Bulldogs would allow, as a 3-1 victory at the University of La Verne ignited a 9-0-2 stretch for the remainder of the season. The Bulldogs gained confidence by the end of September with an imposing 5-0 shutout against Pomona-Pitzer. After a 2-2 draw on the road against the nationally-ranked Stags to begin October, the Bulldogs strung together a five-match win streak that featured two shutouts, 18 goals, and four road victories. While jockeying for postseason seeding down the stretch, Redlands captured a 2-0-1 record over the final three games to seal a home game in the SCIAC semifinal.
The Bulldogs enter their 12th SCIAC Postseason Tournament with four crowns to their name.
Sophomore forward Steve Acuña (Pico Rivera, CA) completed the regular season as the conference leader with 16 points on five goals and six assists in SCIAC action. Junior midfielder Collin ChubbFertal (Eugene, OR) follows close behind in third with 12 points on five goals and two assists. Between the posts, first-year goalkeeper Adrian Muñoz (Pasadena, CA) paces the Bulldogs with 21 saves, a .778 save percentage, and a 5-0-2 record in conference play.
With an 11-8-1 overall record and a 10-5-1 mark in conference, the Poets earned a SCIAC Postseason appearance for the first time since 2013. Whittier began the season with a 2-2-0 record before taking a win over Redlands on the road. After losing to the Stags, 0-1, later that week, the Poets went on a 5-0-2 streak that was deterred by another loss to CMS in double overtime. Whittier ended the season with a 0-1 loss at home to Occidental to secure the No. 3 seed for the tournament.
Sophomore forward Banks Telkamp (Seattle, WA) finished the regular season with a team-high nine points on four goals and an assist. Junior forward Alejandro Trujillo (Buena Park, CA) is also effective on the offensive end with four goals, including two game-winners against SCIAC competition. Sophomore goalkeeper Teddy Nickerson (Seattle, WA) has logged more than 1,140 minutes as the Poets' starter. He boasts a 0.86 goals-against average and a .788 saves percentage. He owns a 6-3-2 record with three shutouts in conference this season.
In the other semifinal, top-seeded CMS (12-3-2, 9-1-2 SCIAC) ended the regular season with a 3-0-1 mark over the final four games to lock in their No. 1 seed. Also nationally ranked 13th and 25th, the Stags are led by sophomore forward William Barton (Seattle, WA), who is second in the SCIAC with five goals in conference action this season. Sophomore goalkeeper Eduardo De Anda (Fontana, CA) anchors the defense with a SCIAC-best .917 saves percentage. He owns a 6-0-1 record with three shutouts in conference competition this season.
Ranked No. 4 in the tournament, Occidental (10-5-4, 7-4-1 SCIAC) went 6-0-2 over its final eight games to secure a spot in the semifinal. First-year midfielder Joey Schwartz (Highland Park, IL) and sophomore midfielder Adrian Paredes (West Hills, CA) lead the Tigers' attack with five and four goals, respectively. Junior goalkeeper Scott Drazan (Gaithersburg, MD) mans the net with a 0.95 goals-against average and a .762 saves percentage this season.
The winners of the semifinal matches will face each other in the final this weekend at the site of the highest remaining seed. The tournament winner will earn the SCIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championships.