The University of Redlands women's soccer team opened the 2018 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) season with a hard-fought battle against the visiting Occidental College Tigers on Wednesday night under the lights on Farquhar Field. While registering 18 shots, the Maroon and Gray left it all on the field and earned a 1-1 draw through two extra periods.
Redlands came out firing right out of the gates, registering five shots in the first 12 minutes of action. Senior forward Madison Mills' (San Ramon, CA) blast forced the Oxy goalkeeper to make a save.
At the 19:50-mark, sophomore midfielder Emily Falla (Woodinville, WA) did her best to take advantage of a good opportunity but a Tiger defender blocked the shot.
Occidental managed to find the back of the net on a short-pass, free-kick play in the 25th minute.
The Bulldogs worked to recover that score over the next 20 minutes of the half but headed into the break with a one-goal deficit.
With a reenergized style of play, Redlands entered the second half with an offensive mindset. Within the first two minutes, the Bulldogs moved the ball into scoring position, when Mills sent a cross from the far side to the front of the goal. A short scrum allowed junior midfielder Mel Johnson (Bremerton, WA) to knock in the game-tying score.
The Maroon and Gray maintained that intensity throughout the second stanza by creating chances and remaining vocal. Junior forward Bryn Anderson's (Tahoe City, CA) header-shot just missed the mark at the 82nd minute.
Occidental mustered one final attempt on goal late in the game but it sailed high. With a 1-1 tally, the teams quickly regrouped to go to overtime.
The Tigers dominated the first extra period, earning two corner kicks and three shots. But the backline of senior defender Louisa Alstot (Portland, OR), sophomore defender Abby Nordquist (Gig Harbor, WA), first-year defender Rilee Mezenen (Holladay City, UT), and junior defender Bria Bowton (Spokane, WA) held strong for the Bulldogs.
The only shot of the final frame came off the foot of senior midfielder Hayley Romo (Port Orchard, WA) but Occidental's goalkeeper came up with the save.
As time expired, the score remained knotted at one apiece.
Redlands held a sizeable advantage on the shot margin, 18-10, while the teams finished even with two corner kicks apiece.
The Bulldogs (0-2-1, 0-0-1 SCIAC) host Caltech in their first-ever conference meeting on Saturday, September 15, at 7 p.m. on Farquhar Field.
