The University of Redlands women's soccer team traveled to Eagle Rock on Wednesday evening to take on the Occidental Tigers in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) matchup. Both teams scored within the first 25 minutes of action and continued to battle through regulation and two overtime periods, but none of the chances came to fruition ending in a 1-1 stalemate.
In the 18th minute, sophomore midfielder Charlie Baum (Hesperia, CA) collected the ball and switched the field to senior forward Skyla Wilson (Palm Desert, CA). The Maroon and Gray showed off some quick passes as Wilson sent the ball to senior forward Alexa Groesser (Denver, CO), who slipped a sneaky through-ball to senior defender Bria Bowton (Spokane, WA). Racing towards the end line, Bowton lifted the ball to the top of the 18 where junior forward Emily Falla (Woodinville, WA) executed the perfect finish to the bottom corner for a 1-0 Bulldog lead.
Seven minutes later, Occidental evened the score with a shot finding the back of the net during a scrum in a front of Redlands' goal.
Senior goalkeeper Brittany Dinkins (Renton, WA) provided excellent coverage between the pipes by hauling in seven saves in the first half to keep Redlands within striking distance.
After halftime, play intensified immensely as both teams fought for the break-through goal, but as the clocked ticked to signal the end of regulation, the score remained 1-1.
First-year goalkeeper Courtney Stewart (San Jose, CA) and sophomore defender Ashley Holbrook (Moraga, CA) made some crucial defensive plays in the second and both overtime periods to keep the Tigers at bay.
Redlands' best chance came with only 15 seconds left in the second overtime as Baum served a long cross to Wilson for a shot that was unfortunately deflected, resulting in a 1-1 tie.
Ultimately, Dinkins and Stewart combined for 12 saves on the night.
The Redlands women's soccer team (3-2-1, 0-0-1 SCIAC) returns to action on Saturday, September 21, at 7 p.m. as it heads to Whittier College to take on the Poets.