Bulldog Women's Soccer Loses Defensive Battle Against Athenas, 0-1

The Bulldog women's soccer team lost 0-1 to CMS on Saturday afternoon.  (Photo Credit:  Colin Zaccagnio)
The Bulldog women's soccer team lost 0-1 to CMS on Saturday afternoon. (Photo Credit: Colin Zaccagnio)

The University of Redlands women's soccer team fell to the Athenas of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Saturday afternoon, 0-1.  Despite a strong defensive effort while only allowing five shots on goal, the Bulldogs could not muster enough offense en route to the tough one-goal defeat.

With the loss, the Maroon and Gray slips back into a tie for fourth place with CMS in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) standings, with just two conference contests remaining in the regular season.

Redlands registered three-consecutive corner kicks early in the first half, but nothing came of any of the opportunities, keeping the score level at 0-0.

CMS (6-8-3, 5-5-2 SCIAC) threatened on a few occasions as well, but Bulldog senior goalkeeper Sabrina Grandke-Bawab (Kirkland, WA) made three important saves to keep the Athenas off the board.  Eventually, however, the pressure was too much and Elizabeth Augustine found the back of the net for CMS, putting the Athenas up 1-0 before the half.

By halftime, CMS had edged Redlands in shots, 7-6, while the U of R held the significant advantage in corner kicks, 6-1.

Knowing it needed to find the equalizer in regulation, Redlands pushed the tempo of the match in the second half in search of the all-important tying goal.  Various Bulldogs ripped off shots as they continued to press the issue, but the U of R could not find the finishing touch, resulting in the one-goal defeat.

Redlands outshot CMS, 6-5, during the second stanza, and held an 8-3 advantage in corner kicks for the game.  On the day, the midfield trio of junior Devin Wright (Upland, CA) sophomore Summer Norquist (Boise, ID) , and freshman McKenzie Oliger (Seattle, WA) led the way offensively, each providing two shots for the Maroon and Gray.

The U of R (6-8-3, 5-5-2 SCIAC) returns to the pitch on Wednesday when it travels to first-place Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (12-2-1, 10-2-0 SCIAC) for another conference contest.  Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.