During Breast Cancer Awareness Day at Farquhar Field, the University of Redlands women's soccer team fought valiantly but fell to the visiting Occidental College Tigers by a score of 1-2 in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) match on Saturday afternoon.
Early in the match, senior forward Alexa Groesser (Denver, CO) chased the ball down deep into the right corner and sent a cross to senior forward Bryn Anderson (Tahoe City, CA), who attempted the one-timer, but she missed just high. Anderson earned another quality shot a few minutes later that forced the Oxy goalkeeper to make a tough save.
Despite quality play from the Bulldogs, the Tigers benefitted from a foul against Redlands inside the box that led to a successful penalty kick for a 1-0 advantage in the 37th minute.
Anderson took one more shot down the stretch of the first half, but it was saved, sending the teams into the break with a one-goal differential.
Following a corner-kick opportunity early second half, the Tigers took advantage of a scrum in front of the net to notch their second goal of the game.
Less than 10 minutes later, Groesser knocked a well-placed, free kick to junior defender Abby Nordquist (Gig Harbor, WA) in the box, who tapped a header past the Occidental goalkeeper to cut the deficit in half with about 28 minutes remaining.
The Bulldogs earned three more chances at the goal, but none made it through, resulting in a tough 1-2 loss to the Tigers.
Redlands (5-6-3, 2-4-3 SCIAC) hits the road for a pair of conference matches, beginning with Cal Lutheran University on Friday, October 25, at 7 p.m.
